Originally Posted by
pepperjack
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Not really, I'm not American, so I have no sense of guilt of how your countrymen and women treated their soldiers and other military forces. I never treated them that way.
Britain never served in Vietnam, although we had taken part in the Korean War. In part I suppose this was in retaliation for the USA not backing Britain over Suez.
Our Australian and New Zealand cousins served there, as decided for them by their Governments. My cousin served there as part of the Australian forces.
If I have any feeling on the matter, it is one of anger at the shabby way they were treated, when they returned home. I wouldn't blame them if they felt bitter about it.
However as I had, and have, relatives in the military, I may be somewhat biased in my viewpoint.
To my mind they are our forces and we should support them and their families as best we can. I regard with revulsion, the British Government informing military personnel that they are being made redundant when their tour of duty finishes. The cuts in our defence budget, I find utterly stupid, and repugnant, but still our troops give of their best.
On November 11th, at 11 a.m. we in the UK celebrate Armistice Day, when we wear a blood-red poppy in our lapel, and have a two minute silence across our Nation to remember the sacrifice of those who died in battle, or returned home wounded or maimed to their loved ones.
I honour and respect our military and the military of our allies, a simple thank you or well-done, seems totally inadequate for the service they have given.
In England they have a town called Wooten Basset, through which the flag-draped coffins of our military were paraded on being repatriated to the UK from Afghanistan or Iraq. There people would line the streets in respect for our fallen.
As our fallen are being repatriated through a different airbase, Wooton Basset will no longer serve this function, but in recognition of the respect they showed, they have been given the prefix Royal. The town will hence forward be known as Royal Wooton Basset.
Often our regiments are given the Freedom of the City, or the town where their regiment is based, and a public parade when they return. If one compares this to the behaviour of the WBC in your country, I think I know which I prefer.