Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post, from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
This series was conceived as a haven where folks can drop in to share conversation, ideas, weather reports, and music. Feel free to leave a note, comment, picture, or tune. As always the diarist gets to sleep in, and may show up long after the post is published. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.
Pull up a chair, get your cup of tea, coffee, or other favorite morning beverage and join us for a neighborly start to the day ahead.
Tomorrow, 11/11, is Veteran’s Day.
Veteran’s Day is often confused with Memorial Day, which comes at the end of May every year. Originally, Veteran’s Day was called Armistice Day. It was set at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month. It was the moment Germany signed the articles of armistice on a railroad car in France, ending the First World War. The “War to End All Wars.”
Yeah, right.
All that happened was the combatants got better at warfare due to technological advances. Those included the tank, submarine, airplanes, machine guns, motorized vehicles and chemical warfare. Radio came along soon enough.
Anyway, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance honoring the dead. Most of the ceremonies are solemn events held in National Cemeteries.
Veteran’s Day is intended to honor all veterans of military service, both dead and alive. Those are usually more celebratory than solemn memorials, although some memorial services will be held.
As a family whose military traditions go back centuries, we honor both. Both my sons are/were USCG veterans. We also have many other veterans in our family and close friends, and are proud of all of them. They answered the call when their country needed them.
My gggg-grandfather fought at King’s Mountain, as did his son, my ggg-grandfather. Here are a couple of songs they would have known back in 1780.
Soldier’s Joy is an old Scottish fiddle tune, with lyrics by a variety of composers, including Robert Burns. If you listen carefully to the original Eighteenth Century lyrics, “soldier’s joy” was whiskey, beer, and morphine, used when they amputated a limb. The soldier says he won’t be without his “soldier’s joy” from now on. This version is without the gory lyrics. Fiddle by the delightful Hilary Klug:
The Minstrel Boy is based on the Irish tune, The Moreen. Lyrics were added by Thomas Moore while he was still a college student sometime about 1820. It became popular with soldiers during the American Civil War. The tune was used in the movie, Blackhawk Down. The Minstrel Boy was even used in an episode of Star Trek.
During World War One, there were many songs for and about our troops. One of particular meaning for me is The Young Aviator. I was eight years old during World War Two. The war occupied everyone’s mind all the time. I had already fallen in love with aviation as well as steam trains. I would go down to the rail yard and watch the steam locomotives. Airplanes flew over singly and in large formations. I got to watch both trains and planes any time I was not in school.
One winter morning that year, I woke up singing a song at breakfast. I had never heard it before, so assumed I was simply making it up. My mother hated the words I sang and tried to make me stop. I sang this song as I walked to and from school. Later, as a teenager, I learned I was NOT making it up in my head. I have no explanation why an eight year old kid suddenly woke up one winter morning, knowing a WW1 Royal Air Force mess hall song he had never heard before. There are several versions, but all are quite similar. This is closest to the version I sang on my way to school.
A young aviator lay dying
And as 'neath the wreckage he lay
To the mechanics around him
These parting words he did say:
Two valve springs you'll find in my stomach
Three spark plugs are safe in my lung
The prop is in splinters inside me
To my fingers the joy-stick has clung
Take the cylinders out of my kidneys
The connecting rod out of my brain
From the small of my back take the crankshaft
And assemble the engine again.
During WW2, there were many songs coming from the radio and movies. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition was a big hit in 1943.
Not surprisingly, there were songs popular on both sides of the lines. Lili Marlene began as a German song, the lonely soldier pining for his love back home. The song was picked up by Allied troops because the sentiment is universal among soldiers of all armies.
Vera Lynn died last year at the age of 103.
Vera Lynn sang many songs that lifted the spirits of battle weary troops. One that always spoke to me was this one:
I know we have a number of veterans in our MOT regular crew. We also have spouses of veterans. This MOT is dedicated to them, with love, affection, and respect.
Wednesday Lagniappe:
Throw a Nickel on the Grass, Save a Fighter Pilot’s Ass came out of Vietnam. The song is about a tradition at wakes and funerals for pilots, where a nickle is thrown on the grass at graveside as they sing this song.
Flyover for fighter ace and famed test pilot, Bob Hoover, in 2016.
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