Remember, Remember

Claire Thompson, Waves PR

Having grown up in a military family, I was shocked to hear about how two shootings had happened in army camps over the last week – one in the US, one affecting British troops in Afghanistan.  This may be too personal for a ‘work’ related blog, but it’s an important day. Remembrance Day seems somehow more important this year.

Forces personnel sign up to put themselves in danger on our account.  They pretty much take in their stride what’s thrown at them (quite literally) in conflict zones, and lean hard on each other for support – the ribald camaraderie helps deflect fear.

For anyone who’s played a computer game, it’s easy to understand how one person can shoot – and kill – another. It’s a blob on a screen; a uniform at the end of a gun sight; but it’s not like killing a person.  The two army base shootings this week were by people who knew their victims. Who worked alongside them. Who saw the whites of their eyes, heard their voices, knew their names.

We may not like the wars they fight in our name, but it is ‘us’ who have sent them there through our voting choices or lack of protest. For them to face the enemy within their own ranks is absolutely chilling.

It is a fitting day for all of us to take a few moments, whatever our nationality, creed, colour, to remember those who have died or suffered for an ideal or ideology; to offer support to those left behind; and to resolve to take positive actions to bridge the gaps that cause wars – to promote a greater understanding and support those that do:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Some words from an old soldier: Remembrance Sunday 2009-11-09

After our remembrance parade I felt constrained to write a haiku. This is not a good example but the Japanese format allows much to be said in simple terms if you seek the true meaning

Old men weep, poppies fall

Young men at war.

Feeble tears fall:

We weep: we are not there

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War Launches Remembrance Week Feature Gallery on New Project Website (newswire.ca)
• Letters: Partial memory over victims of war (guardian.co.uk)
• Uncle: Fort Hood suspect loved US (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• US Army Base Massacre: Psychiatrist Kills 12 (news.sky.com)
• Fort Hood shooting: 13 killed and 30 injured at US Army base (telegraph.co.uk)
• Remembrance Day poppies for cars (telegraph.co.uk)
• US Army Base Massacre: Suspect Still Alive (news.sky.com)
• Are shootings at military bases common, or was Fort Hood unusual? (slate.com)
• Shooter at Texas army base kills 12 (cbc.ca)
• Military: Fort Hood shooting ‘isolated’ case (msnbc.msn.com)
• Fort Hood shootings: suspect Nidal Malik Hasan in a critical condition (telegraph.co.uk)
• Fort Hood shooting: profile of Nidal Malik Hasan (telegraph.co.uk)
• Remembrance Day silence should be mandatory: poll (nationalpost.com)
• An undignified silence (mumbrella.com.au)
• At War: After the Attack (atwar.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Army: Shooting Suspect Taken off Ventilator (abcnews.go.com)
• Poppy Appeal Sets Sights On Record Total (news.sky.com)
• Bodies of 6 UK war dead return from Afghanistan (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Gordon Brown vows to fight Taliban in Afghanistan but public support falters (guardian.co.uk)
• Britain honours war dead on Remembrance Sunday (ctv.ca)
• Remembrance Day: Goodbye to all that (guardian.co.uk)
• Ceremonies mark world’s war dead (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Stolen medal returned to First World War vet’s family (ctv.ca)
• British soldier killed in Afghanistan on Remembrance Sunday (telegraph.co.uk)
• Remembrance Sunday: the roll call of British dead in Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)
• UK ‘not convinced’ by Afghan goal (news.bbc.co.uk)

1 Comment

Other Links to this Post

1. Tweets that mention WavesPR » Remember, Remember -- Topsy.com — November 11, 2009 @ 12:07 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment