Veterans Day 2020. #Wordless Wednesday

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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30 Responses to Veterans Day 2020. #Wordless Wednesday

  1. Anne Mehrling says:
    November 11, 2020 at 5:34 am

    That was a lovely way for me to celebrate Veteran’s day.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 11, 2020 at 6:31 am

      Glad you liked it Anne – I know that this holiday is more about celebrating our living veterans and thanking them, but I decided we can also honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice as well.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Tofino Photography says:
    November 11, 2020 at 10:53 am

    I didn’t realize that there won’t be the normal gathering today?

    Like

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 11, 2020 at 8:47 pm

      When we moved here to the States, the first November 11th we were a little dumbstruck. In Canada, we were used to the solemn day, Remembrance Day, where everyone, even little kids in school, wore their poppy, maybe went to commemorations of the war dead or veterans. Here they do that on Memorial Day, but to be honest, here Memorial Day is more of a “gateway to Summer” event where people go camping, have barbecues … a long weekend. And social media always reminds people it is a solemn event but people still see it as a three-day holiday. Even our Memorial Day parade in our City, which ends up in this park I featured here in this post, is solemn in part as they play taps and give a gun salute and lay wreaths for all the types of service personnel (Army/Navy/Marines), but it is also a parade with clowns and funny cars, etc. For Veteran’s Day today, it is for the “living veterans” and they have discounts for a lot of restaurants, fast food, coffee/donut places where veterans can go for a free meal – you are supposed to thank a veteran for their service if you see one. I did at the Park … a walker there is a retired military guy. I think the war dead should be honored today too. The young man who died that they memorialized in the boots and bayonet statue was a sad story – a rocket-propelled grenade hit him from behind during Operation Iraqi Freedom; he was only 24 years old. I wrote about him and another young soldier who finished up his tour of duty and was working in the military off base and was killed by a drunk driver in Texas.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Tofino Photography says:
        November 11, 2020 at 9:45 pm

        I didn’t know that Linda? I assumed both Canada and the US marked the same date the same way but I am familiar with Memorial Day being on a different time.
        Sad to hear about that young man being killed! He probably didn’t realize what was happening.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        November 11, 2020 at 10:01 pm

        Either did we … there is nothing solemn about Veteran’s Day here in the States. I intended to go over there and take B&W pics and then take a picture of my poppy that I have from one time when we were in Canada for my grandmother’s November 19th birthday and I went downtown and bought one. I was going to have the poppy in red. But the trees were beautiful in gold colors, so I just used them as is. I was going to send you the post I did on Sgt. Craig Frank – I found the post, the link to the info on him posted by the Fallen Heroes Memorial site that provides the memorial statue was no longer valid. He died in 2004 and if that was not sad enough, metal scrappers took the boots/bayonet/helmet statue and left the stone base. They eventually provided another statue but there was a wait until it was done.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        November 11, 2020 at 11:26 pm

        do you remember as a child the poppies having not only black centre but also a smaller green one inside the black?
        I bet they stopped doing that because of costs! I’d like to make my own with a green centre.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        November 12, 2020 at 6:48 am

        I do remember that Wayne and they were made of soft felt. We kept them from year to year and I can remember my Mom pinning it on my school clothes for Remembrance Day when I was young. My original poppy tore in the middle part, likely from rubbing against my coat and moving the pin around to cause the tear/hole and so the poppy I got on a trip to Toronto was not the same soft material nor the original construction. I traveled to downtown Detroit from 1976 to 2009 and the veterans used to sell poppies on the street corners but I never saw that for the last decade or so – I am guessing few people bought them anymore so the vets no longer showed up. One vet, a double amputee was there for years on a busy downtown corner.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        November 12, 2020 at 11:56 am

        I read up on the history of the poppy design and it appears there are many!
        Each country had it’s own design.
        This is the recognized colour meaning……….”It is thought that the red of the petals represents the blood of those who gave their lives, the black button in the middle is for the mourning of those who never welcomed their loved ones home and the green leaf shows the hope that the grass and crops growing after the war brings”

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        November 12, 2020 at 9:49 pm

        That is interesting Wayne – I did not know the symbolism behind the flower, only that poppies were worn around the world, You taught me something new tonight.

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      • Linda Schaub says:
        November 12, 2020 at 10:36 pm

        And always glad to learn something new Wayne!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Joni says:
    November 11, 2020 at 12:14 pm

    Lovely photos Linda. Remembrance Day was very quiet here today, no large gatherings, just small ones.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 11, 2020 at 9:19 pm

      Thank you Joni. When I went to Memorial Park on Saturday, it was a sea of yellow leaves and I decided to do the post in color – originally I was going to do it in black and white and take a picture of my poppy that I got in Canada many years ago. On Veteran’s Day here in the U.S., they celebrate the living veterans, not the war dead … that surprised us when we first moved here to the U.S. – they put more emphasis on war-dead here at Memorial Day (but it is also more of a long holiday as wekk(,

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Ally Bean says:
    November 11, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    Beautiful photos. This park looks lovely like someone cares. That’s nice.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 11, 2020 at 9:23 pm

      Thanks Ally – glad you liked the photos. I noticed they had two POW-MIA flags which were brand new. I wrote to the City via Facebook to see if we had POW-MIA residents as I’ve never seen anything about it, but did not get an answer. They do keep this Park up nice – they have a parade every Memorial Day and it ends up here at the pavilion and memorial stone with all the war dead names on it, but it was cancelled due to COVID.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. AnnMarie R stevens says:
    November 11, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    Miss Linda………………..that was a great way to celebrate Veteran’s Day!………………………….thank you…………………………………. and everything is so real and close by in our own neighborhood………………………..we don’t have to go to Washington D.C. to get their celebration pictures………………………………

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 11, 2020 at 9:42 pm

      Yes, I just took those pictures at Memorial Park this past Saturday. Such a glorious day and the sun was shining, all those beautiful golden leaves. I agree with you Ann Marie. This year they had POW-MIA flags, two of them, and I don’t recall seeing them before – they were clearly new. I Googled around to see if we have POW-MIAs from Lincoln Park but came up empty on that.

      Like

  7. Sartenada says:
    November 12, 2020 at 3:27 am

    Hello Linda.

    Absolutely great post. We have not similar day, but we have everywhere memorials all over our country. Here my first post of three posts:

    Comparing war memorials I

    This means that every time when people visit cemeteries, they can remember war heroes.

    Have a good day!

    Like

  8. Laurie says:
    November 12, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    Happy Veterans’ Day, Linda! My dad was a WWII vet and I thought about him yesterday.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. indianeskitchen says:
    November 17, 2020 at 1:13 am

    Thank you for all these wonderful pictures. I’m sure they bring a lot of memories of loved ones.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 17, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      You’re welcome Diane. I once did a post on Sgt. Craig Frank, the young men who was killed – I read the story in the local paper and they built the memorial afterward. Very sad for him and his family. It was a beautiful day when I went to Memorial Park … all those yellow leaves still on the trees and the rest were scattered everywhere.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. The Rural Iowegian says:
    November 17, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Beautiful. I served in three branches over my many years of service and it always warms my heart when someone pays respect to those memorialized. God Bless, R. I.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 17, 2020 at 9:50 pm

      Thank you Mark – a beautiful Fall day, all golden leaves just enhanced Memorial Park and its memorials even more. The names of our City’s war dead from WWI, WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam War are on the memorial. We usually have a Memorial Day parade, but it was cancelled due to COVID.

      Like

  11. The Rural Iowegian says:
    November 17, 2020 at 10:38 am

    The story behind the poppies is in Europe there is a poppy that will lie dormant for years until the soil is turned. In the World War One, when the allies started burying their dead in a field called Flanders Field, shortly thereafter the little red poppies started popping up everywhere someone had been buried. A poem was written by Canadian Lt. Col. John McRae that goes:
    “In Flanders fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the Dead. Short days ago
    We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved and were loved, and now we lie
    In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
    In Flanders fields.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      November 17, 2020 at 10:02 pm

      I did not know the legend of the poppies – that is an amazing story. I only thought the poppies represented bloodshed, so this was interesting to read about. Thank you for sending me this info Mark. I am Canadian, but have lived here in the States since 1966. We celebrated Remembrance Day – always a very solemn occasion. I understand from a post by a Canadian blogger that now, two minutes of silence is held at 11:00 a.m. on Remembrance Day … this is throughout Canada (9 provinces and 3 territories).

      Like

  12. M.B. Henry says:
    November 17, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    Love the cannon against the yellow leaves

    Liked by 1 person

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