Don Ellis
28th of October 2005 (Fri), 01:26
November 11th is Veterans Day in the United States -- chosen to remember the day the armistice was signed in 1919, formally ending World War One -- and although I haven't lived in the U.S. for 20 years, I was reminded of the holiday by a post in DPreview's Canon Talk Forum by Bob Tucker who asked veterans to post their before-and-after photos.
Vietnam was a time to forget for a lot of reasons, and I almost skipped the post out of reflex, but then I thought, why not? For whatever reasons that men and women go to war, they sacrifice something of themselves... innocence, health, sanity, life.
I once heard or read a quote that remains fragmented in my memory but went something like -- "Why do we send our youth to war?" Answer: "Because they'll never go at any other age." Old people tend to send others to war rather than going themselves. Perhaps Veterans Day would be better known as War and Peace Day, so that there is at least a goal within the remembrance.
Here's to the veterans of all wars on all sides -- and to the day all that comes to an end. Hopefully not with a bang.
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Forty years on... almost to the day.
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19 years old
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego 1965
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/pro1/don_usmc3.jpg
Vietnam: March 1966 - June 1968
Sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines
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59 years old
Bath Spa, England, 2005 (11 days ago)
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/pro1/don_bathspa.jpg
I'm at peace, even if the world isn't. :)
Cheers,
Don
P.S. If nothing else, the "before" photos are often good for a laugh (and mine is so much better than my high school yearbook photo). So root around your foot locker and find a photo and show us the way you were.
Vietnam was a time to forget for a lot of reasons, and I almost skipped the post out of reflex, but then I thought, why not? For whatever reasons that men and women go to war, they sacrifice something of themselves... innocence, health, sanity, life.
I once heard or read a quote that remains fragmented in my memory but went something like -- "Why do we send our youth to war?" Answer: "Because they'll never go at any other age." Old people tend to send others to war rather than going themselves. Perhaps Veterans Day would be better known as War and Peace Day, so that there is at least a goal within the remembrance.
Here's to the veterans of all wars on all sides -- and to the day all that comes to an end. Hopefully not with a bang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forty years on... almost to the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
19 years old
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego 1965
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/pro1/don_usmc3.jpg
Vietnam: March 1966 - June 1968
Sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
59 years old
Bath Spa, England, 2005 (11 days ago)
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/pro1/don_bathspa.jpg
I'm at peace, even if the world isn't. :)
Cheers,
Don
P.S. If nothing else, the "before" photos are often good for a laugh (and mine is so much better than my high school yearbook photo). So root around your foot locker and find a photo and show us the way you were.