[Milsurplus] D-Day

[Mike Morrow]

Leigh wrote:

> ...may the memory never fade of the servicemen and woman and
> also the people that supported them.  long may they be 
> remembered and honoured.

Unfortunately, it's not too likely there will be long remembrances, except
what comes from the all-too-frequent use of D-day as a setting for movie
entertainment.  But were it not for that, the sacrifices would have long
since been forgotten.

For example, who remembers the more than 26,000 US battlefield *deaths*
and other casualties numbering 100,000 from the six-week WWI Meuse-Argonne
campaign (most of which occurred in a 20-day period)?  It is THE campaign
most costly in life in ALL of US history.  Who has ever even heard of
Meuse-Argonne?  Don't feel bad if you haven't.  It was forgotten by the
1930s even in the military academies...no movies were being made around it.
Only the French keep it in their memory at the associated military cemeteries.
Unlike WWII US military cemeteries in France, WWI US cemeteries in France get
very few visits by Americans.  Those forgotten boys from WWI had folks who
loved them and lives that had meaning just as much as those from WWII.

I'm thankful to those of all eras who have carried the burden of military
service.  So few feel any obligation to do so for any portion of their
lives in the western world today.

Mike / KK5F