Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

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oakrodent
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Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by oakrodent »

Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40110489/ns/us_news-life

This is really sad, I can't believe there is no memorial. How much do any of you know about WW1? For the most part it is an overlooked war over shadowed by WW2. It is probably the bloodiest war of modern time.
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by Matt »

there are countless WW1 memorials in small towns everywhere but nothing in DC?
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by oakrodent »

Nothing in DC. Sad. On 11 Nov 1918 (Armistice day) from 6:00am till 11:00am there were 10,944 casualties. On 6 June 1944 ( D-Day ) there were 10,000 casualties. One was for taking the enemies land to defeat them, the other was for land that was going to be theirs after 11:00am and was known info at 5:00am that morning
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by 42rocker »

Hope that the Vet's of WW1 get one. But don't see it happening for at least 2 years.

Later 42rocker
Assassin42

Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by Assassin42 »

A WW1 memorial will never happen for 1 big reason. There isn't enough left to cause any congressman a problem during their next re-election. They are no longer a big voting block that some power hungry congressman cares about.

All of us veterans owe the WW1 vets a lot. The WW1 vets rioted and demonstrated back in the 1920s for the federal government to honor their bonus promises from enlisting. It took a while and more than a few deaths, I have read, before the then feds gave in. If they didn't have the courage to do that back then, then everything we are promised now for bonuses, retirement pay, and free medical wouldn't happen.
12thWaffenSS

Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by 12thWaffenSS »

oakrodent wrote:
Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40110489/ns/us_news-life

This is really sad, I can't believe there is no memorial. How much do any of you know about WW1? For the most part it is an overlooked war over shadowed by WW2. It is probably the bloodiest war of modern time.
All I know about World War One is that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. Am I right?
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by drooling idiot »

12thWaffenSS wrote: All I know about World War One is that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. Am I right?
"Germans? Forget it, he's rolling."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V8lT1o0sDwI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/video]
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by Assassin42 »

WW1 is a war that never should have happened. Started over the death of a minor Austro-Hungarian archduke who no one in his own family gave a cr*p about and didn't miss him after he was gone. A war pushed into happening by people seeking glory, power, and huge piles of money from the war effort. Millions butchered so a hand full of people could turn a nice profit and maybe expand their empire.

But that is the story of most wars. A self important person(s) starts it and those at my level die for them to turn a profit. Giving your life to free a people is one thing, doing it just so someone can buy a new mansion is a completely different story.
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Re: Last U.S. WWI vet calls on congress to build memorial

Post by dwmmg08 »

You're right that WWI was a war that never should have happened, but Franz Ferdinand was not a "Minor" Austrian Archduke, he was the Heir to the throne, and in a very real sense in that fractured and multi-ethnic country, the future of the country. Emperor Franz Joseph, Emperor since 1848 or so, was in a big sense the main thing holding the whole together; Targeting and Murdering the heir to Austria -Hungary threatened the future existence of the whole empire, which is what the Terrorists who murdered him were shooting for. Emperor Franz Joseph's son, Crown Prince Rudolf, had, sadly, committed suicide together with his mistress in 1888, and he was now an old man, (but a workaholic) so the succession issue to the throne was a really big issue.

Franz Ferdinand was actually a somewhat interesting guy. He married someone considered "beneath" his position for love, his beloved wife Sophie, which caused him an insane amount of problems at the time. He had very seriously discussed making the dual monarchy the tripartite monarchy (Austria-Hungary-Slav) which would have probably strengthened the whole, but would be a serious problem for Serbia and Serbian-Russian propaganda and nationalism; hence the Assassin's plan to kill not just anyone, but him specifically. In the end, they murdered him and his wife, Sophie, leaving their children orphans. Some people most certainly did miss him when he was gone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_F ... of_Austria

There was a National WWI memorial established, it's in Kansas City, where leaders of all the Allied Nations attended the huge gala dedication back in the 1920's. It's been restored and expanded, and is well worth a visit; their collections are wonderful!!! They just had a big special exhibit on the WWI German Machine Gunner.

For reasons too weird to fathom, we have memorials to stuff that happened in other countries overseas we were only involved in stopping, (The national Holocaust museum) but no National Museum of the US Army, No World War One Memorial on the National Mall, No Spanish American War memorial on the National Mall, and no Mexican War Memorial on the mall either, and we picked up states and territories with reps in DC in the last two! I firmly agree we should have a monument, or memorial on the mall for WWI, but I don't think we need to re-invent the National WWI Memorial and Museum we already have. :D

The National WWI Memorial and Museum:

http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/in ... unity.aspx

They have some really cool stuff!!!! Well worth a visit if you're in the area. Be prepared that your kids may be shocked how much stuff is the same stuff you already have... :D :lol: My daughter thought it was crazy that they had the German 1916 belt loader hanging in the air... she pointed out you can't use it like that at all!!! :D :mrgreen:
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