In the US, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day after the Civil War. I have no idea when it was changed.
There hasn’t been much in the way of “other wars” (besides WWII) hence “other veterans” in most western countries , to begin with. And even in the rare cases where there has been some, they aren’t necessarily much celebrated (say, French colonial wars).
Besides, the cult of the military is an American peculiarity (in current times). In most countries, people don’t care the slighest bit about their military (and by extension their veterans) nowadays. So, they’re unlikely to be highly celebrated,
Thanks !
Of course, that’s Memorial Day. Israel doesn’t have a Veterans’ Day, probably because in Israel, every day is Veterans’ Day.
I recall many years ago, seeing the war memorial in a medium-sized town in Brittany. Many names for World Wars I and II; also, the name of one luckless guy killed in Algeria in, IIRC, 1954. I thought it rather moving that he, too, was commemorated.
In Germany, there is a rembrance day (Volkstrauertag) on the second Sunday before 1st Advent Sunday (i.e. on the sixth Sunday before 25th December). One of the somber November holidays where depending on the state public dancing is prohibited and movies screened need an additional OK (on top of age classification) from the motion picture rating agency.
It’s strictly for rembrance of the victims of wars and oppression, i.e. soldiers are not honored for serving (no public occasion for that) but remembered (along with other victims) for dying.
Yes, they got their name on the monuments. What I mean is that nobody has much reverential thoughts for Algeria war veterans. We never hear about them. Contrast this with for instance US Vietnam war veterans, who are talked about a lot.
I happened to be in Ottawa a year ago, staying at a hotel just a block or so from the War Memorial and they made a pretty big deal of it. Parades and the like. This year, both because of recent events and because it is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the war, they made a huge deal of it. As a matter of fact, at 11:00 yesterday I was entering onto the McGill campus and they had a huge event there too. There was some guy giving a speech; I heard at least one cannon go off; and I saw two Mounties on great big black horses. Very impressive. I would estimate a couple thousand people on the lower campus. I never saw such a celebration on campus before. The temperature was around 5 C (41 F). While it was a bright sunny day, the sun is so low in the sky these days that it didn’t help much.
Before World War II. This might be of interest: My Memorial Day speech this morning - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board
I never knew that - that was indeed an impressive sight.
That’s what all the Remembrance Day ceremonies I’ve seen on tv have been like. The one this week was, well, I’m not going to say bitterly cold, but it was pretty damned cold, and everyone turned out anyway.
I wouldn’t say Canada has a cult of the military (I agree that it sure looks like that in the US), but our soldiers (past and present) are respected and honoured. People always line the highway in Ontario where deceased Canadian soldiers are brought home to show their respect.
I’m pretty sure no one from that Siamese force is still alive. There were some when I first came here though.
In New Zealand Armistice Day is not as well observed as is ANZAC Day, but is still marked by ceremonies at major sites, such as the National War Memorial in Wellington. Outside that, there isn’t much public observance.
ANZAC Day is not limited to remembering the WWI and WWII servicemen. There are also those who served in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, and now Afghanistan, and they will be noted on war memorials where a local person was killed in any of those conflicts, and are also in the Auckland War Memorial museum, where a hall is dedicated to remembering servicemen that were killed in overseas conflicts.
On ANZAC Day, no businesses may open before 1 o’clock in the afternoon, it is observed as a public holiday and there are parades and memorial services at just about every town and city that has a war memorial, such as a cenotaph or obelisk or memorial gates or plaque on a building or whatever, and that’s just about any place bigger than a petrol station and one house. Larger places will have a dawn parade of veterans and serving military, and later a memorial service, in mid morning. Smaller places may not have any returned servicemen/women so will have a memorial service without the parade.
Is Oderings still fighting the Anzac day closure?
There’s a few here that are the NZ in ANZAC as well…
Rather a different set of circumstances, I suppose. European countries trying after World War II to hold on to their possessions on other continents, were going then against the general trend of thought as to what was right to do – and general world sentiment nowadays, is even more thus. (And most of the guys in the European forces then involved, would have been reluctant conscripts.) European countries mostly feel somewhat ashamed about their mid-20th-century colonial wars. I can’t think of an exact parallel for the US – the business in the Philippines circa 1900 was an awfully long time ago, and overall world sentiment then was that “natives” needed to be ruled and civilised, and the US won in that conflict.
From a British perspective, firstly the iconic poppy that is used as a symbol of remembrance has the roots of its usage in WW1. Secondly, this year is 100 years since the start of WW1, so there is a special focus on it. Additionally, whereas WW2 is seen as a just war to stop tyranny, WW1 has a feeling of utter pointlessness about it, meaning the deaths really just never needed to happen. That resonates.
The war memorial for where I grew up (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England) has 140 for WW1, 68 for WW2 and 1 for the Korean War.
Australia has already been mentioned, I work in a Government department ad at 11:00am they play a recital of a verse from the Ode to Rememberance:
Follewed by The Last Post, a minutes silence and then The Rouse.
There is always a service at the Australian War Memorial and people place poppies next to names of relatives/friend etc on the Roll of Honor.
There is a little town (little as in “Official Population: 6” little) I would go through once a year located waaaaaaay out in the outback that has Harry “Breaker” Morant on its War Memorial.
The rightly-executed war criminal? That’s weird. You Aussies take your celebration of criminals a bit far.