The railways in Canada and the US were also taxed to extreme limits during WWII. I'm certain that much power and rolling equipment was jerry-rigged in order to keep it on the road in order to help win the war, not to mention the countless work rules that were bent to the full knowledge of trainmasters, yardmasters, and superintendents alike, but again, we were at war and there was a job to do, regardless of the cost.
Men and women toiled tirelessly to keep the trains moving day and night, 24/7. When the war was won these railroaders didn't receive metals or purple hearts pinned on uniforms for their duty that they had perfomed above and well beyond the call of duty. Did they complain? NO! It meant serving their countries with a silent pride so peace could be restored to two great nations on earth.
Canada and the USA, two unique friendships, that has endured through the ages. Pray that it will always remain this way. United We Stand;
Divided We Fall.*
*This must NEVER happen, regardless!
Not intending to bring politics up, but it is shocking indeed to witness the events that continue to unfold in Washington DC with the longest government shutdown in American history. This is not the Dream that the late great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned, but can only be described as A Nightmare on Main Street.
Gads, what a thought...
Peter's mentioning of the Battle Of The Coral Sea reminded me of something.
Vietnam era Marines and sailors just loved going on liberty in Australia, as one of them told the "The Australians always treated us like kings!" and they knew why.
The difference between then and now is, the 'Nam era troops knew about the Coral Sea battle, and also that at that time the only thing standing between Australia and the Japanese was the US Navy, the Australian Army was in North Africa fighting Rommel and the RAN wasn't strong enough to do the job by themselves. The Aussies had little to stop the Japanese with and have been grateful to the US for stopping them ever since.
The Aussies would do some serious butt-kicking on the Japanese themselves, but it would take time to bring them home.
And the Boomer's right, we English-speaking peoples have got to stick together, hey, Western Civilization's got to stick together, it's a dangerous world out there!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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