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why poppies? From this poem:
That war seems distant for GenXer or even baby boomers.
So Peter Jackson took old silent films and combined them with interviews of the soldiers done in the 1930s, and colorized the film as a way to remember the ordinary soldier.
In the UK, the war dead are remembered today but in the USA, November 11 is Veterans day, and not a major holiday.
The day to remember those who died in wars in the US is Memorial day, which started to remember those who died in the Civil War.
but here in the Philippines, the day of rememberance is the Day of Valor: The day remembers the Bataan Death march.
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Our Plaza has two war memorials: One to a hero of the revolution, and another to the veterans of World War II.
Lolo's brother and cousin fought as guerillas in WWII, and his cousin captured and killed. The aunts have a memorial shrine in their house as a memory.
Lolo was just a kid, but after Mac Arthur invaded and urged the Philippines to rise up, he joined his brother...so the Philippines recognized him as a veteran, but not the Americans, since his service was short.
He wouldn't talk about the war, but only said he mainly was tasked to patrol the area to keep civilians safe.
Every year, he would return for the town fiesta, and his friends and him would sit together and drink and play cards and tell stories. They would march in the front of the fiesta parade. Then one by one they got frailer, and rode in a car. Then they all were too old or had passed. Sigh.
The importance of these days is to remember that war is not a good thing, but to remember that those fighting were doing so to protect the civilians and their country.
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