November 11th
Remembrance - Armistice Day
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| Model of World War 1 Memorial Sabin Howard |
Wright H. and I have shared a lot of things over the years – a friendship, Old Smuggler Scotch Whiskey, travels to Greece and Germany, but more importantly – and think about this – we share fathers who fought in The Great War. The American Expeditionary Force under Pershing. That is correct, fathers that served in The Great War; more commonly known now by younger generations as World War I.
There are few people who can claim that their fathers served in The Great War in France. Both his father and my father served in the battle of the Meuse-Argonne at the end of the war. The largest American battle in history.
For those of us, and especially from foreign lands, monuments to World War I are not unique. England, I was reminded the other day, the Cenotaph was Great Britain's memorial to those who died and fought in World War I, The Great War. France - The Battle of Verdun memorial. Belgium, The Belgian Infantry Memorial in Brussels. The United States has not had a national memorial. It has several other memorials to those but not a memorial to all those who served and died in World War I. But that will change in 2024 when the US honors its fallen and brave, with a memorial to be in Washington DC in what now is Pershing Square. Sabin Howard is the Connecticutt artist creating this bronze bas relief to be commemorated in 2024.
As an aside I share with you what my girlfriend and I were told when we visited the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in Verdun France, the “Western Front” of World War I. The Meuse-Argonne Cemetery hosts the largest number of US fallen soldiers in all of France.
Like so many things in our lives, in our loves, in history - we forget one generation back and only think of the current “past” generation. By that I mean for most of the readers of this blog post they know of World War II in Germany and France, in Greece, in Hungary, in Austria, in Turkey, in Sweden. All over the world people honor and respect those who served in World War II. It is a natural thing for us to overlook two generations or three generations back and thus we lose that perspective of who fought and more importantly, “why.” So, it is no disrespect that people do not speak of the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, because that is history, ancient history to most people.
The beaches of Normandy, Africa Campaign, what people think of now as their fathers and sometimes grandfathers served in World War II and fought in those fields. World War I was a different world war than World War II. And without a lot of details in history – if so, inclined you can read about it – many modern weapons were created in World War I, that were only amplified in World War II. Soldiers who fought in World War I did not know how to fear machine guns. Soldiers did not know how to fear the tank. Did not understand what kind of flying engine was in the air over above them with two wings like a large bird. They did not know of gas “mustard” and others. My father was wounded by gas, so I am aware of gas.
As a cautionary note to those of you who have spoken to me at least in the past two years or the past year you know my objection to the war in Ukraine both from the attack by the Russians as well as by the political and geographic and war positions of Ukraine. In many ways, we see the renewal of tribal responses by different nations to what is taking place. It is reminiscent of the root causes that resulted in World War I, the greatest war the world had seen at that time. Regrettably, we are continuing to make that same error with the leadership and nations do not seem to be interested in stopping the war. But only penalizing the aggressor.
At the conclusion of this I will refer you to a couple books that speak about how Europe "sleepwalked" to the war of great nations. A war that Great Britain said that young men they would be home by harvest season. Who told their young men villages by villages to enlist, and they would all serve in the same village. Only to find themselves five years later with villages of only maidens and no young men.
I know that you will sense that this is an unusual peace coming from me. Not all my work is only of liquor and travel. So, to end this or conclude this I say let us celebrate with a French 75 cocktail. That cocktail that was named after the French 75-millimeter cannon, the first recoilless cannon in history. It went on to generate and fire shell after shell after shell after shell after shell without having to be realigned and re-aimed. Imagine the disasters that would occur from being able to bombard an area with multiple shots by the canon in a minute.
Remembrance Day for all those who served in all the wars and conflicts.
Cocktail
French 75 Cocktail
Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, topped with Champagne
(Named after the canon)
Appetizer - baguette with brie
Music - Lily Marlene
References:
Film:
“1917”, A 2022 Netflix film produced in Great Britain
“All Is Quiet on the Western Front,” A 2022 Netflix film produced in Germany
Books:
“The Sleepwalkers, How Europe Went to War in 1914” by Clark, 2012
"The World At War, Paths of Glory" by Humprey Cobb, written in 1915
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| Pershing led the American Expeditionary Force. |
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