tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post527794567449909482..comments2023-09-24T09:46:20.734+02:00Comments on Magic Lantern Show: Looking Back to a Distant War . . .Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-59786373511982772732010-05-15T01:43:02.186+02:002010-05-15T01:43:02.186+02:00compelling in so many ways... your historical rese...compelling in so many ways... your historical researches (i think one can call them like this) always make one ponder about what 'history' (a most unsettling concept) means for every one of us...<br /><br />amazing, the green field with the white crosses and the autumn forest in the background -Roxanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05650840495095863057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-52266957236344090742010-05-12T18:20:55.751+02:002010-05-12T18:20:55.751+02:00Thanks for posting these. I'm excited to shar...Thanks for posting these. I'm excited to share these w/my Grandfather.<br /><br />He fought in WW2 (Marine 6th Division, 29th Regiment) While researching on the net for stories I came to realize that there are none about his Regiment. When I asked him about it...he said "of course not .... our historian was killed in the second day of fighting and he wasn't replaced. Shot right between the eyes."<br /><br />I think it's sad to lose these mens stories as well. Last week was the first week that my Grandfather really opened up about his experiences. Hopefully at lunch this week he can be encouraged to share some more.Tami Weingartnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00162998790940785630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-67853163104274598802010-05-12T05:45:01.729+02:002010-05-12T05:45:01.729+02:00Lola,
I don't know how to thank you...Lola,<br />I don't know how to thank you...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-76060342012511419212010-05-11T14:07:28.730+02:002010-05-11T14:07:28.730+02:00Oh Owen.
This made me gasp with tears, that still...Oh Owen.<br /><br />This made me gasp with tears, that still sting in my throat well after reading the touching words and viewing (often lingering over) all your splendid photos.<br /><br />Wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL post. <br />I don't have sufficient words to say how beautiful.<br /><br />I could go on saying how perfect all the details are, how and why each photo moved me, but this would end up being a mile-long comment. <br /><br />Please do send Hanks and Spielberg the photos too. And the whole post.Eleonora Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06746184664869196394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-62461753148808591582010-05-11T03:18:54.842+02:002010-05-11T03:18:54.842+02:00Tag Robert,
Thank you good sir...
Not sure if I e...Tag Robert,<br />Thank you good sir...<br /><br />Not sure if I ever mentionned I'm a big fan of Erich Maria Remarque, and honestly wish I could read his stories in the original German.<br /><br />During the same days I visited this place last November, I also visited several of the many German cemeteries around Verdun. They are all very sobering places. There were no winners or losers. Only the human race lost...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-40298727645179311062010-05-11T02:32:42.897+02:002010-05-11T02:32:42.897+02:00A silent bow in respect of this entry of yours.A silent bow in respect of this entry of yours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-46680436819929074492010-05-11T01:23:24.728+02:002010-05-11T01:23:24.728+02:00Lydia, you are very welcome. One feels rather help...Lydia, you are very welcome. One feels rather helpless when confronted with the enormity of such a place, doig this post was the very least I could do...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-64733721720205359342010-05-11T01:22:09.967+02:002010-05-11T01:22:09.967+02:00Hi @eloh, it seemed clear enough to me, your first...Hi @eloh, it seemed clear enough to me, your first message... indeed, France was and is very kind to have donated the lands these cemeteries occupy, and to allow the US government to staff and maintain them...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-58599792646666565012010-05-11T01:20:00.206+02:002010-05-11T01:20:00.206+02:00Jessie, infinitely sad...
==============
Peter,
...Jessie, infinitely sad...<br /><br />==============<br /><br />Peter,<br />We are indeed lucky to have missed that particular hell. This was really the first war fought predominantly with machine guns and artillery, it took butchery to new depths. They do deserve our thanks, looking back these 90 some years. I'm wondering what sorts of memorial services there will be when we get to 100 years ?<br /><br />================<br /><br />Hey H2O Cats,<br />Whatever point there was long ago, the national prides and bruised egos seem so ridiculously small and petty today. What will it take to get the world out of these nationalist mindsets that send whole armies into pointless arenas, where blood runs in great rivers ? I wonder...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-63874202566784912652010-05-11T01:10:03.830+02:002010-05-11T01:10:03.830+02:00Ah Lynne Louciao,
You have seen behind the clown&#...Ah Lynne Louciao,<br />You have seen behind the clown's makeup, you've spotted the running mascara, you've seen the sad look in his eyes as he ponders the evils of the world, the past wrongs which pile higher and deeper like windblown snow into cold, heartless drifts.<br /><br />Your x-ray eyes see deeper, far deeper than most mere mortals, which is your gift, or one of them. And it's ok, you may say what you said again, and again, it is music to these ears and balm for the soul. But it is funny that Blogger liked it so much that it was posted twice...<br /><br />Now, where's that Saj, it's time for a wee drink !Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-83830363051036003672010-05-11T01:03:36.925+02:002010-05-11T01:03:36.925+02:00Hi Clytie,
Thank you for sharing your memory here,...Hi Clytie,<br />Thank you for sharing your memory here, however brief... and let the tears fall, it's ok. Did you ever try to look into where he served, with what unit ? I hope you can find more of his story if you wish to. I know many veterans did not like to talk about their experiences, but sometimes traces can be found if one digs. My wife's father was in the French military in Indochina, and never told his children anything about it. Maybe someday I'll try to do some digging for her.Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-25367432395042453412010-05-11T00:53:44.688+02:002010-05-11T00:53:44.688+02:00Amy, you are more than welcome. It was not only th...Amy, you are more than welcome. It was not only the numbers that overwhelmed me here, but the sense I had of discovering an enormous secret that I'd never had more than the barest inkling of. I wonder how many visitors this place gets annually. Although not all that far from Paris, I'm betting it is not on all that many tourists' itineraries as they plan their trips to France. Maybe in 2018 the place will get some press, for the 100 year anniversary of the death of these 15000 young men...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-70759027778585816022010-05-11T00:49:36.373+02:002010-05-11T00:49:36.373+02:00Hey StickUp Artist, for readers like you, one is i...Hey StickUp Artist, for readers like you, one is inspired to try to keep the energy flowing...<br />:-)<br /><br />=============<br /><br />GJT, many thanks for stopping in here and leaving a kind word... really appreciated.<br /><br />=============<br /><br />Hi ER,<br />Out of sight, out of mind perhaps, don't know if wars ever are in fashion. But it just amazes me that a place like this exists, and I never heard about it in a history class...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-387276536159224462010-05-11T00:41:10.546+02:002010-05-11T00:41:10.546+02:00Fishstikks, thank you... I was overwhelmed by this...Fishstikks, thank you... I was overwhelmed by this place, and wanted to share that feeling...<br /><br />============<br /><br />Hi Nadege, many thanks... <br /><br />and it seems to me you have a blog, but I can't get to via your profile, as profile is private...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-57762097152141270642010-05-10T22:40:17.802+02:002010-05-10T22:40:17.802+02:00Thank you for this deep post. Leaves me wordless, ...Thank you for this deep post. Leaves me wordless, really.Lydiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11135393270656573516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-34687842790660979762010-05-10T21:22:03.483+02:002010-05-10T21:22:03.483+02:00Sister Saj... thanks... We musn't forget. The ...Sister Saj... thanks... We musn't forget. The world would be a very different place today if the Germans had won either of the World Wars. We are lucky I think there were men, brave men, willing to pay the final price to keep that from happening...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-54974782826063363482010-05-10T21:19:56.081+02:002010-05-10T21:19:56.081+02:00Virginia, you are very welcome. I don't want s...Virginia, you are very welcome. I don't want such places and what they commemorate to disappear into the fog of the forgotten past...<br /><br />======================<br /><br />Harriet, thank you very much, really appreciate your visit...<br /><br />======================<br /><br />@eloh,<br />I wonder if the American cemetery you visited would be this one in Southern France from WWII ?<br /><br />http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/rh.php<br /><br />In Draguignan, which is not too far from Nice ? These places really are beautifully maintained...Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12622587942009516590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-31571774818867077672010-05-10T17:04:49.709+02:002010-05-10T17:04:49.709+02:00I didn't leave a very clear comment... I want ...I didn't leave a very clear comment... I want to thank France for all it has done and all it continues to do for all the boys who died in the wars.<br /><br />And thank you Owen for the wonderful pictures.@elohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15974297923741455898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-4052446578997500992010-05-10T12:18:58.412+02:002010-05-10T12:18:58.412+02:00It's a sobering thing.. this post.. hard for a...It's a sobering thing.. this post.. hard for anyone a generation or two or three to comprehend. It makes you wonder what the point was? but then, I suppose the fact that we can think that was the point!Batteson.Indhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10846214578565824955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-18519406561489052352010-05-10T10:13:21.213+02:002010-05-10T10:13:21.213+02:00You are so right, Owen, to remind us (and Steven a...You are so right, Owen, to remind us (and Steven and Tom) of this and the way you do it is outstanding, touching...! This must have been one of the worst war places and moments ever. Lucky us, who were born later ... and great thanks to those who were there, more especially to those who came from abroad!PeterParishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09694538476960957295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-85143428441622015062010-05-10T09:52:37.429+02:002010-05-10T09:52:37.429+02:00Stunning photos Owen and so very, very sad.Stunning photos Owen and so very, very sad.Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593348601123003194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-42182029820431511572010-05-10T01:29:54.018+02:002010-05-10T01:29:54.018+02:00About the deleted comment:
Ironically, my comment ...About the deleted comment:<br />Ironically, my comment posted itself twice, making a lie of my statement that I'd never say such a thing again!Lynne with an ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00320166770541319601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-59823666484009741862010-05-10T01:26:13.948+02:002010-05-10T01:26:13.948+02:00Compassion, empathy, insightfulness, clarity, beau...Compassion, empathy, insightfulness, clarity, beauty of vision, the eye of an artist, technical skill, a sensitive soul, a questioning mind, gorgeous colours/contrasts/light/focus, food for thought, a sharing of self, a provocation, a prayer--all bound up within this blog posting. Not typically subjects I would wish to contemplate, war-death-suffering-sacrifice, but sensitively presented here, Owen. The soul hidden beneath the clown suit, the tears behind the painted-on smile. I won't ever say anything like this to you again, okay?Lynne with an ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00320166770541319601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-32927177189203054772010-05-10T01:26:13.949+02:002010-05-10T01:26:13.949+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lynne with an ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00320166770541319601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855510751016957422.post-58647984704827138622010-05-09T20:20:19.498+02:002010-05-09T20:20:19.498+02:00I am holding back tears. Thank you so much for thi...I am holding back tears. Thank you so much for this post.<br /><br />My grandfather fought in WWI. When he died (when I was a teenager), a color guard was at the burial. They presented my grandma with a US flag. Then they left.<br /><br />I will probably never know much more than the fact that he served, and survived. He had alzheimers for years before his death, and had already lost those memories himself.Clytiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869657234201857627noreply@blogger.com