showing respect for the fallen soldiers

[charlene]

When the fallen Canadian soldiers come home to the Trenton military base in eastern Ontario they then come thru Durham region and into Toronto.
People are now lining the bridges across the 401 to pay their respects. This footage is from here in Whitby but the same thing happens all across Durham region and the hiway that runs thru Toronto.

bless them all..we will remember.

http://www.mediamash.ca/media/1623/Paying_their_respects/

[brink-]

Here in the US we are not allowed to see the coffins removed from the planes, we also can no longer see the twin towers being hit, I guess both are too much for us and we need to be censored. I personally feel (MY OWN OPINION, SO NO FLAMING PLEASE) is that the twin towers should continue to be shown so we do not forget, or push it to the back of our minds, and that the return of every single soldier - alive or dead - should be televised. They are the heroes and should be treated as such.
Char, your picture was amazing and heart warming, I am so glad that they have the respect that they are due.

[RM]

Originally posted by brink-:
we also can no longer see the twin towers being hitI was unaware of that.

Your sentiments are agreed with 100%.

[charlene]

i was quite surprised to see the latest u.s. soldiers deaths announced in an obscure little paragraph buried in the sarasota florida paper. i don't think there was anything on local tv so anyone who doesn't watch national news wouldnt know..if it's a local/florida person i'm sure there'd be coverage..
all soldiers deaths in canada have been front page news from their deaths to their funerals, leaving afghanistan, repatriation, the drive thru toronto etc. regardless of hometown or where they were stationed in canada.
while the number of murdered canadian soldiers is not as high as u.s. soldiers it is proportional i believe. and canadians are not in iraq..they are in afghanistan only..
i find it disrespectful to those who give their lives to be disregarded so callously, for whatever reason..there is no reason good enough as far as i'm concerned unless the families request no coverage.
the murdered soldiers proudly stood up for their i.d. tag photos and proudly stood up for their countries..

[RM]

Originally posted by charlene:
i was quite surprised to see the latest u.s. soldiers deaths announced in an obscure little paragraph buried in the sarasota florida paper. i don't think there was anything on local tv so anyone who doesn't watch national news wouldnt know..if it's a local/florida person i'm sure there'd be coverage..
Yep, that the way it works in these parts too. A local/regional casualty is front page news, while the rest are just a news item. It's disgraceful.

[talbot10]

Originally posted by brink-:
Here in the US we are not allowed to see the coffins removed from the planes, we also can no longer see the twin towers being hit, I guess both are too much for us and we need to be censored. I personally feel (MY OWN OPINION, SO NO FLAMING PLEASE) is that the twin towers should continue to be shown so we do not forget, or push it to the back of our minds, and that the return of every single soldier - alive or dead - should be televised. They are the heroes and should be treated as such.

Char, your picture was amazing and heart warming, I am so glad that they have the respect that they are due. I'm with you Deb! on both those points. :)
Bill

[louisemnnpls]

Originally posted by timetraveler:
Ditto from this end too, Brink. Amen! That footage gave me the chills. What has happened to America??

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Originally posted by charlene:
i was quite surprised to see the latest u.s. soldiers deaths announced in an obscure little paragraph buried in the sarasota florida paper. i don't think there was anything on local tv so anyone who doesn't watch national news wouldnt know..if it's a local/florida person i'm sure there'd be coverage..
all soldiers deaths in canada have been front page news from their deaths to their funerals, leaving afghanistan, repatriation, the drive thru toronto etc. regardless of hometown or where they were stationed in canada.
while the number of murdered canadian soldiers is not as high as u.s. soldiers it is proportional i believe. and canadians are not in iraq..they are in afghanistan only..
i find it disrespectful to those who give their lives to be disregarded so callously, for whatever reason..there is no reason good enough as far as i'm concerned unless the families request no coverage.
the murdered soldiers proudly stood up for their i.d. tag photos and proudly stood up for their countries.. That's the people we've got runnin' this country for us. Someone's trying to cover their butts by attempting to avert our attention from the high number of fallen soldiers (by hardly even telling us about it and not letting us see them unloading the coffin's, etc.) Well it won't work.
Not to be discussing politics or anything, but I think in the white house they know they're causing a lot of young soldiers to get killed so they're trying to get the monkey off their back. :( :mad:

[podunklander]

Originally posted by RM:
Originally posted by charlene:
i was quite surprised to see the latest u.s. soldiers deaths announced in an obscure little paragraph buried in the sarasota florida paper. i don't think there was anything on local tv so anyone who doesn't watch national news wouldnt know..if it's a local/florida person i'm sure there'd be coverage..
Yep, that the way it works in these parts too. A local/regional casualty is front page news, while the rest are just a news item. It's disgraceful. Most States have a dual-status Military agency and I feel bad (and very sad)that so many of you have misunderstood this and consider it disgraceful:

http://www.das.state.ct.us/Digest/Digest_2004/Military%20Department.htm

This is the Military agency for the State where I live and you will find such in other States.

Our Governor is in charge of our State troops...not the White House. For fallen soldiers, she issues reports to our State's TV news stations and papers. We are provided with a daily flag status, to assure that our States' Soldiers are recognized and honored for their sacrifice. Our Governor has issued a Heros4hire initiative and other programs to assist our State Military Service members. Our State also has a Veteran's preference hiring status and dual Federal/State-funded programs and services to Veterans and their families.

Honoring our State and local heroes is a longtime tradition/protocal and I assure you that it is very respectful and deeply rooted. Our State militia is hardly a new thing.

In Canada, there is an active and strong Nationalist agenda. Ceremonies/services...such as the one in this post, serve to promote a National identity. With Canada's large spanse of provinces, etc., promoting a National identity is very crucial.

This is a post-nationalism phenomena and one that is found in many other countries. Nothing wrong with that at all for either of our Countries.

Censoring film footage of the WTC is not a bad thing! It is very traumatic to watch. Later generations may have a need to watch this, but showing this over and over again can trigger post-traumatic stress. Airing the footage of this tragic event for the purpose of shock value would be a cruel thing.

Instead, we have memorials and cermonies of remembrance.

I am so proud of a new Veteran's honor roll memorial in the town where my father, uncles, cousins (WWII) and Veterans of all conflicts/wars were enlisted and now can be readily remembered and honored for their service for our Country.

Our American Legions, VFW, etc., provide many services to active enlistees and veterans and their families. Their work is highly commendable!

Our Federal and State Memorial Day and Veteran's Day observances allow us to honor and remember our Veterans.

I know Veteran's and others who place US flags on every gravesite for Memorial Day.

As far as televising and newspaper reports of returning soldiers in our State...is done all the time! They are certainly treated as the heroes that they are!

I do read plenty of other State's fallen soldiers and those who have returned...whether in active duty or back to civilian life. No, this is not reported or televised nationally on a daily basis and it is far from being callous or anything of the sort to not do so.

I wish so many people would not criticize the USA so harshly and to do so with no regard to the many ways we honor our soldiers. And the reasons we have the protocal that we have. Just because it isn't identical to what Canada is doing...doesn't mean we're not doing enough or that it's not done properly.

And I do find I am personally offended...because I am the daughter of a DAV/POW WWII veteran. If not for my father's service and the many more, we may not be speaking so freely nor even be where we are at all!

My dad suffered battle fatigue and war-related postraumatic stress disorder. So I do understand the reason why we are not allowed to see the caskets. And this was at the request of US war Veteran's and not some political White House thing.

[charlene]

Folks aren't feeling the way they do because the u.s. doesn't do things the way Canada does.
For those who don't have any personal military connection but would like to see/read about the soldiers it keeps us keenly aware what a sacrifice they are making. I think of all the military personnel all over the world every day and say a silent thankyou when I do. When I see or hear about a fallen soldier on the news or front page of my paper I take a longer moment to think of not only him but his family as well and if I didn't have those reports in front of me like that I wouldn't know and be able to reflect and give thanks for their sacrifice.
No personal offence was given but due to the military we can express differences of opinion.
and unfortunately along with differences of opinion offence will be taken by some.. that too is part of the legacy the fallen have given all of us.
nobody's opinions/thoughts are right or wrong, nor should personal offence be taken.
I'm not offended in the least that your thoughts are different than mine.
My uncle is a WW2 veteran who was a plane mechanic stationed in England. While he proudly acknowledges the honours and accolades given on Nov.11 and other days during the year he keenly watches the news for military reports of our soldiers.
Amongst the Canadian veterans and military there are differences of opinion about how these things and many other military things should be handled..so amongst the general population there's bound to be the same...these discussions keep the subject pertinent and our focus on the fact that there are people giving their lives for us. Regardless of how their deaths are reported.
That is freedom of speech to me.

[brink-]

I think you may have mis-understood what we are saying. I personally believe that we need to honor our fallen soldiers more than we do, I also feel that we need to assist our returning soldiers more than what we do.
I live in the US, I am personally offended that we are censored - I think we should see the film of the twin towers, if we choose to watch it, I think we should see the coffins being removed from the planes, if we choose to want to see it. We need to see all of this - so that we do not put this so far back in our minds that we forget.
Yes, we do have the veterans preference for hiring, we have all that you listed....we need to do more.

"The Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of military caskets returning from war since 1991,
citing concern for the privacy of grieving families and friends of the dead soldiers. The Bush administration
issued a stern reminder of that policy in March 2003, shortly before the war in Iraq began."
Seattle Times 4/22/2004

I am not entering into a political debate about this. Both Republicans and Democrats have allowed this policy to continue. It isn't about if the war is right or wrong, or if one is Republican or Democrat it is about showing respect, about honoring a hero, about showing our fellow Americans that we care and that we remember.
I have first hand experience with PTSD, I understand. I don't think that we should show the footage for shock value either, but I certainly don't believe in the censorship.

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/8/4260

I am sorry podunklander that you took offense, none was meant.

[RM]

Okay, let's get back to discussing Paris Hilton.

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by RM:
Okay, let's get back to discussing Paris Hilton. Oh do keep up Ron!! Things have moved on rapidly, it is now all Lindsay this or Britney that!!
As "Mer" apparently knows very well!!:-
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot/images/lohan.jpg
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot/images/Mer_True_Love.jpg
a not so flattering screenshot from:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWgvm-XH9bs
True Love - A Film Featuring Dani McIvor & Mer Lightfoot
Sorry Meredith

[ August 11, 2007, 18:11: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Son of a Castleberry!

[charlene]

a portion of the 401 has new signs. Trenton is east of Toronto.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_14514.aspx