Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers who need to be thoughtful about things,
Tomorrow is November 11th. It goes by different names in different countries. In the United States, it is Veterans day. In Canada, it is Remembrance day. For a good part of Europe, it is Memorial day. However, the reason behind the commemoration is perhaps best reminded by the phrase:
"The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month." 105 years ago, nations finally managed to agree that the bleeding had to stop and an Armistice was declared - ending the First World War.
Perhaps for reasons that are all too obvious, I find myself thinking back to that war and the lessons that apparently have not been learned from it. In particular, I am drawn to Verdun and the horrors of that battle. My Dad visited Verdun as a young man and spoke passionately about what he saw. One thing he mentioned was the "Champ des bayonets." The literal English translation is "field of bayonets." You can read story behind this memorial here:
https://www.travelfranceonline.com/bayonet-trench-in-douaumont-verdun-wwi/In short, the site was discovered in 1919 as a location where a trench once existed and all that was left was rifles sticking out of the ground many with their bayonets intact. While there is some controversy, it was assumed that the trench was a target of intense artillery bombardment and the men in the trench were killed at their post, their weapons at the ready.
I had a summer internship in France in 1990 and asked my uncle to take me to Verdun to see the memorials there. My uncle took me to the "Champ des bayonets." We visited
Fort Douaumont which plays a central role in the battles for Verdun throughout the war. He then took me to place I didn't know about - the
Douaumont Ossuary As we walked toward it, I could see from the parking lot what was clearly human bones visible from portals in the basement of the structure. I was stuned and flabbergasted at what I saw. Only later did I come to understand what this memorial was and why it had to be built.
Today, members of the armed services are required to wear dog-tags. The reason comes from Verdun. The fighting there was so savage and prolonged than there was no way to retrieve the dead from either side. It wasn't until after the war that most of the human remains could be retrieved. By then almost 1/2 of the fatalities could not be identified. The estimates is that over 130,000 men died and their bodies were never identified. The Douaumont Ossuary was built as a place to intern those remains and honor the memory of those unknowns. You can read more about the structure on the website of the facility:
https://www.verdun-douaumont.com/en/ After over 100 years, our collective human memory seems to have lost track of how violent and cruel humans can be. Once more hate is triumphing over love. Once more revenge is triumphing over compassion. Once more nations and national entities are deciding that war can be an answer to their grievances. In the United States, November 11th is a day to honor the living Veterans of our armed services. However, perhaps this year we need to take a moment to remember that other reason why November 11th is so important. I think everyone on earth should spend a moment visiting the Douaumont Ossuary in our hearts. Perhaps it is the only hope we have to restore peace once more.
Edouard
