On Memorial Day

To visit the original post from Mrs. Yollis and class...

Memorial Day 2012

Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

I know of Memorial Day and its importance in remembering the men and women who died in active military service. When I had been in Hawaii, I had visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It can be sad passing along the rows of often very young people who have lost their lives in wars but we must remember how important their sacrifice had been.

I was interested to read Andrew and his scout troop had placed flags at military grace sites. I was a scout and ended up earning my Queen’s Scout Award (similar to Eagle Scout). A number of times I took part in local ANZAC Day marches as a scout, sometimes carrying the Australian flag.

For Andrew, if he is interested, here is a link to a post on my scouting history I prepared for a student in 2011.

 https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/05/23/a-scouting-post-for-leila/

Your questions…

Did anyone in your family serve?

Of course, I didn’t have any known family serving in the U.S. forces but I have had relatives serve for Australia.

Ernest Mannell served in WWI in France. He was my great uncle (my father’s uncle). He lost his life while serving. The family has never known where he was buried as, apparently, the German forces had buried him along with many others.

My father served in the Australian Infantry Forces (AIF) in World War II. He was sent to Singapore to help defend the city and, when the British forces surrendered, he became a Prisoner of War (POW). He was only freed when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.

I had uncles serving in the Australian Army, Navy and Air Force during WWII. All returned safely. One uncle had put up his age so he could serve and was sent to fight the Japanese in New Guinea. On finding out, my grandfather had him returned to Australia. As soon as he was old enough, he rejoined and was sent back to New Guinea.

Did you fly your American flag today? 

I have flown the American flag but it wasn’t on Memorial Day, It was when I first heard of the 9/11 attack in New York.

In Australia, we have two days to remember the sacrifices of men and women who served in wars. The first is known as ANZAC Day and falls on April 25th each year.

ANZAC Day originated back in 1915 when Australian troops landed at Gallipoli in Turkey. It was the first time troops from Australia fought as a nation as Australia only became a country in 1901.

Here is a link to a post I made for a class studying ANZAC Day this year…

https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/05/23/for-23-class-anzac/

The second day is on November 11th each year. It is Remembrance Day and marks the day WWI ended.

 To remember my father, I attend the ceremonies held on these days. This year’s ANZAC Day had a Dawn Service. Here is a link to a video I made of the 2012 ceremony…

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Later in the day, the ANZAC Day march was held through town. Despite the rain and driving winds, there was a good turn out. Considering the weather, I wasn’t able to film the march.

Our days also have U.S. service people in attendance as some retired to our town. One man I have known for a long time, Lonnie Llewellyn, served in the U.S. Air Force.

@RossMannell

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