Newsweek articleClick on the link above to read an article from the February 18, 2008, edition of Newsweek. What are your thoughts?
Lit Terms 2
5 years ago
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The War We Forgot
Posted by A. Davis at 10:56 AM
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16 comments:
This article shows how the improtance of a war can be forgotten without physical evidence. Many people in WW1 did not have cameras or video cameras, so the war does not have a lot of things to remember it by like many of the later wars. It is a shame that we, as the United States, might not recognize the last veteran in our country of WW1. Also, that we do not have a memorial for WW1 in Washington, D.C.
This article demonstrates how big of a deal war is, and that without more proof than a 107 year old man, wars can be lost. Like what Sara Anne brought up in the seminar today during class. Why is it called "The Lost Generation"? That's a good question. It's sad that later on in life, we can't recognize specific people in WW1 that fought for our rights and our country. It truely is sad, they don't even have a memorial to be remembered by. I feel even more bad for the families of the veterans that served in WW1 that won't be recognized by some time of memorial. But atleast they had one for WW2, I guess.
Honestly, the information in this article really bothers me for more than one reason. First off, the US should have plans for an official funeral for Buckles. As Patrick stated in the article, he is walking and living history and deserves to be remembered. After the last veterans die there will be very little proof that this war even existed. In the future, it could come to the same point like the Holocaust has come to with people questioning if it actually happened. This was the first world war and shouldn't be forgotten, neither should the soldiers who gave their lives to fight in it.
I think its terrible that the government wouldn't do anything to perserve ww1. I don't understand why the haven't and why there aren't any plans being made. In my history class our teacher told us that as time goes on people really start to group WW1 and WW2 together as one war. I wonder if that's the way the government feels.If they feel honoring ww2 is enough for both wars. If so, that is an awful way to look at a war and they need to take time and money to honor the men and family's that deserved to be honored.
It really is a shame that millions of people who gave their lives and in turn are not even remembered. Its nice that there may be a burial for the last veteran but it seems like something should be done while he is stil alive.
"When Niall Ferguson says that the american case in Iraq is historical ignorance brings up an interesting aspect. I think history is so import so we can learn from our mistakes and we should always look back upon our past to see if we can predict what might happen in the future." -Sterling Hines
I think the author wanted us to show our appreciation for the men that lost their lives in this war. We may not know all of their names but we could at least honor them somehow.
Ok, so obviously both the authors of All Quiet and this poem really didn't have anything good to say about war. I don't know how anyone would be able to forget about this war and the men who put their lives at risk to fight for their countries. I would probably rather just die like Paul wanted to then be forgotten and unappreciated. THANK YOU WORLD WAR I VETERANS!(:
I think that the author feels the same as most of us. He wants to awknowledge all of the soldiers who fought in that war because not one of them were reconized for serving our country! Altogether, I just flat out feel horible for all the soldiers who fought in WW1.
I think it is terrible how our country has not reconized the veterans of WW1. When i think of war veterans i think of men and women who want to defend the country and people they love more than anything else. It frustrates me that the very people that they protected cannot reconize them when the veterans can still witness it themselves. I hope that one of the countries that still have aliving veteran do something fast before it is too late.
I don't like the fact that were waiting on them to die before we do anything to honor them. I think we should already have a memorial service so maybe the last of them can see it before they all have died. It is a shame that we didn't do more while more of them were still a live. I hate that we didn't really give them anything in return for giving their lives. And now they are almost all dead.
I, like Aimee, was also bothered by this article. The WW1 veterans risked their lives to keep us safe and what do we do to acknowledge their service? We have forgotton about them! I feel personally responsible. Why do we look to "higher power" to take on this great responsibility? I feel that we as Americans should all do something special to remember these great men and their service. Also, this article is a great way to look at how much technology has changed through the years. It said we dont have any real evidence of this war because back then we didn't have cameras or things of that sort. Now all we have to do is turn on the tv and can know what is going on around the world. Just something to think about.
Megan Ownbey
I think that this is quite sad. Something that caught my eye was that Buckles is a reluctant spokesperson. I think that means he wants to bury it and keep it out of his mind. That shows he sacrificed so much and saw others who sacrificed their lives, Therefore I think that there needs to be something done about "the Forgotten War." p.s. Mrs. Davis, you have the chillest taste in music.
First of all, excellent comments, one and all. Secondly, I honestly think you people are adorable, with your righteous indignation on behalf of these veterans. You are exactly right. I am going to try and find out if the bill is still in Congress trying to approve funding for this Memorial. If it is, we can do what a class of mine did a few years ago and send an email to our representatives, encouraging them to support it. Megan-- excellent point about the technology. That's something we will see change as we progress through the semester (and chronologically through literature). It will also become important when we get to the Holocaust unit. And Kendall--I am guessing "chill" is good. If so, thanks. :)
I really think it is shameful on our part that the US knew about the war and still did nothing about it. The war was important and so many people died and they are as of not not even remembered and hardly thanked. I think we need to start working on a memorial asap just to thank them for all that they did. After all we won.
I believe that this article shows the importance of making sure you do not forget your veterans. It seems to me that us as a country have become emotionally numb to war, and when we see a veteran we just think of him/her as a normal person. This bothers me and it really bothers me that we do not have a WW1 memorial in our nations capitol.
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