Jour de Souvenir. McGill University, Montreal. Photo by William Raillant-Clark. November 11, 2010. Image Source: Tumblr.
Here are some images and videos just in from across the Web on Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans' Day, 2010.
I Vow to Thee My Country: UK video posted today by CoinsofCourage. Video: Youtube.
I Vow to Thee My Country (two verses; 1921)
"I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love.
The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best,
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know.
We may not count her armies, we may not see her king,
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering,
And soul by soul and silenty, her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace."
BBC covers the UK's observance of Armistice Day:
Video Source: BBC News Channel/Youtube.
Local reports or footage in Britain: Cheshire Police; Edinburgh, Scotland; Denbigh, North Wales; London. ITN report on Armistice Day in Britain:
Video Source: Youtube.
There's video from Dunedin, New Zealand, here. There's local footage from Australia here, here and here. Reports from Australia on Remembrance Day from SkyNews:
Video Source: Youtube.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel observed Armistice Day in Paris. The German anthem was sung in the French capital amid firm declarations of Franco-German friendship (see: Euronews).
Video Source: Youtube.
From the White House Blog on Veterans' Day. President Obama speaks to troops in South Korea: "We remember." Report here from the Office of the Press Secretary.
Video Source: The White House Blog.
The President's remarks:
We are so proud to have with us U.S. and Republic of Korea vets of the Korean War who are here. And we are greatly honored by their presence. (Hoaa!) (Applause.)American video uploaded in October in preparation for Veterans' Day, playing Barber's immortal Adagio for Strings:
And I want to make special mention of one of them -- Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Hector Cafferata, Jr. Please give him an extraordinary round of applause. (Applause.)
It is an enormous honor to be here at Yongsan Garrison. As President of the United States, I have no greater privilege than serving as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military that the world has ever known. (Hoaa!) And on this Veterans Day, there’s no place I’d rather be than right here with U.S. Forces Korea. (Hoaa!)
We’ve got the 8th Army in the house. (Hoaa!) We’ve got members of the 7th Air Force. (Hoaa!) We’ve got U.S. Navy Forces Korea. (Hoaa!) We’ve got just about every Marine in South Korea here today. (Oorah!) (Laughter.) Happy birthday, Marines, by the way. (Oorah!) And we’ve got a whole lot of DOD civilians, too. So we are very proud of you. (Applause.)
It’s good to see some spouses and family members in the audience. You bear the burden of your loved one’s service in ways that are often immeasurable –- an empty chair at the dinner table or another holiday where mom and dad are someplace far away. So I want you to know that this nation recognizes the sacrifices of families, as well. And we are grateful for your service, as well.
Now, on this day, we honor every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform of the United States of America. We salute fallen heroes, and keep in our prayers those who are still in harm’s way -– like the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Hoaa!)
We recall acts of uncommon bravery and selflessness. But we also remember that honoring those who’ve served is about more than the words we say on Veterans Day or Memorial Day. It’s about how we treat our veterans every single day of the year. It’s about making sure they have the care they need and the benefits that they’ve earned when they come home. It’s about serving all of you as well as you’ve served the United States of America.
This has been one of my highest priorities since taking office. It’s why I asked for one of the largest increases in the VA budget in the past 30 years. It’s why we’ve dramatically increased funding for veterans’ health care. It’s why we’re improving care for wounded warriors, especially those with Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury. It’s why we’re working to eliminate the backlog at the VA and reforming the entire process with electronic claims and medical records. It’s why there are fewer homeless veterans on the streets than there were two years ago. (Hoaa!)
That's why there are nearly 400,000 veterans and their families who are going to college because of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. (Hoaa!) (Applause.)
So I want all of you to know when you come home your country is going to be there for you. That is the commitment I make to you as Commander-in-Chief. That is the sacred trust between the United States of America and all who defend its ideals.
It’s a trust that’s been forged in places far from our shores: from the beaches of Europe to the jungles of Vietnam, from the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to the peninsula where we stand today.
Video Source: Youtube.
Remembrance Day ceremonies today in Bermuda, below, from Bernews:
Video Source: Youtube.
Video Source: Youtube.
CNN has a list of over 6,000 coalition dead in Iraq and Afghanistan here. Here is a banner of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan (source: Dipny). The link is now circulating on Twitter.
CTV's footage of Remembrance Day ceremonies today with several videos from Ottawa is here. The Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto has posted this exhibit on WWII Nursing Matrons. There are small Remembrance Day ceremonies being held across Canada today, like the one in the video below at Brighton, Ontario. Other similar videos today: Toronto, Ontario; Windsor, Ontario; Moncton, New Brunswick.
Video Source: Youtube.
On May 4 of this year, the remembrance ceremonies in Amsterdam were disrupted by a scream and a man dropping a briefcase, which caused the crowd to disperse in panic; the royal family was evacuated (you can watch the video here). Remembrance Day is not just a ritualized memorial to the wars of the past. Different parties all over the Web today are engaged in a vicious fight over Islamic terrorism and its relevance to today's ceremonies. There are disturbing anti-Remembrance Day messages, videos and reports and counter-reports: here, here, here, here, here, here and here. These are all examples of how laying claim to history results in the creation of power in the present. All this tells me is that memory itself is a battlefield. Whoever controls the past, controls the future.
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