Remembrance Day (Nov.11th)

[Trainmaster.Curt]

On November 11th, we in Canada celebrate Remembrance Day in honour of those who fought and sacrificed themselves that we may be free, and also to fight for King & Country. The Canadian Pacific Railway in the last 5 or 6 years has honoured them with a special tribute. On the 11th month, at the 11th day, on the 11th hour, the CPR stops all it's trains in Canada and the US, and shares 2 minutes of silence, and then after the 2 minutes all trains blow one long whistle blast in honour of those who died for our freedom. What a fitting tribute that is! This year i will make sure i am by a CPR yard at that hour.

Rest +Eternal grant unto them o' Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen

[PBenham]

The British Empire's forces suffered horrendous losses of life on the western front in WWI. For months on end they suffered losses that the U.S. forces only suffered in the Civil War and in a handful of WWII battles (Pearl Harbor, Tarawa,Battle of the Bulge,D-day at Omaha beach, D-1, D-2,(same area)Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal and Okinawa). When you are in Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia et al.. Just about every town has a WWI or Great War Memorial. It is a reminder of the horrific price of that war that we cannot comprehend since we entered it relatively late, when both sides were on the verge of defeat. The Allies were able to get U.S. forces to push them to victory, the central powers wound up so battered by the treaty of Versailles they wound up going to war in only 21 years all over again on an unthinkable scale. But the casualties were no where near those of the Western front over the same prolonged period (3 and a half years) for the Western powers in WWII. The Soviet-Nazi front in the east had comparable personnel losses, and the depth of those losses can be seen there as well. I realize this is a bit off topic, but it needed to be said.