Small town support, pathetic.

[paracowboy]

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up a few things before work, one of which was a bit of yellow ribbon to wear on my uniform.  I am truely disheartened that my restaurant has not hung a single yellow ribbon even though many of our customers are from the military family, so I will wear one instead.  Anywho, I made my way down to the fabric department, and was asked by saleslady #1 if she could help, I said I need ribbon, she said, let me guess yellow.  Well all the wider stuff is sold out, I only have thin ribbon left.  This was ok and touching at the same time - I wanted thin ribbon, but to know they were sold out was something special.  I choose my ribbon and go to wait to get it cut.  There was a lady in line ahead of me getting yellow fabrix cut - it seems that yellow fabric is as popular as yellow ribbon.  Saleslady #2 mentioned this, adn wondered why so many people were buying yellow yesterday.  The lady ahead of me and I explained how a group of soldiers were coming home and the yellow was to welcome them.  The lady ahead of me turned and asked if I had anyone coming home.  I struggled not to cry as I said no, mine just went over so that these guys could come home and that he would be back in February.  I lost it when she said "let me give you a hug to thank you for being so brave", and she did, right there in the middle of the fabric department.  She didn't have anyone coming home, just wanted to decorate her yard - she lives 4 miles out of town and wanted to do her part.
I think this really is "Friendly Manitoba"
Just wanted to share.

counter-point

 

[mechanic_chick]

Thats great! We need more people like this!

 

[lyned]

"The mission of The Royal Canadian Legion is “to serve veterans and their dependants, to promote Remembrance, and to act in the service of Canada and its communities.” In essence, the purposes and objectives of the Legion were born of the need to further the spirit of comradeship and mutual assistance among all who have served and to never forget the deeds of the fallen.
It is paramount that the Legion strives to pass on these goals and traditions to the families and descendants of our ex-service personnel and to raise this awareness among all Canadians." http://www.legion.ca/asp/docs/rempoppy/mandate_e.asp

This is what I'm talking about. Our son, along with many others, will be a 22 yr old veteran with no support from the local legion because in the words of the man in charge "we just don't do that" and "If we do it for him, we'll have to do it for everbody that comes home from Afghanistan". Paracowboy, I'm not "getting my panties twisted", those that care will show it. That's fine with us. It just floors me that our local legion, which we've supported in the past, won't show even the slightest support while, like I've mentioned, A very small town close to us with 5 members and no legion building does. This isn't just about our son. I've always been passionate about the lack of support and rememberance our veterans get. WW1 is forgotten, how many people know what we accomplished at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, The Somme, Passchendale, Mons. WW2 is all but forgotten along with Korea, Kapyong. The earlier post by tonykeene was exactly right as far as I'm concerned. Yes PC, you fight for the right of people to choose to show support or not, and I fully respect that. But, you also fight for my right to voice my opinion, and I also fully respect that. Those fighting now and those returning and vets of all past conflicts damn well deserve our respect. But, political correctness doesn't seem to allow this. Alright PC, fire away ;D

 

[paracowboy]

Alright PC, fire away

I got nuthin', dude. Keep up the good fight.

 

[1feral1]

Lyned, sounds like you got some left wing ratbags in key positions there, and I don't think they speak for the whole town.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[the 48th regulator]

Unfortunately, I have seen that even in the legions of the big smoke. 

You get the mixture of both the old vets, and people who had a member of their family serve, create this mafia or clique.

They are fearful of the new influx of veterans because it knocks their little world out of balance.

I have seen it every year, as a group of us go to the local legion for new years and special occasions.  Shock to the gal who is a the president, and her "caucus" if you will, when they find out that a young character like me considers himself a "veteran"...with medals and stories even!

I then went to the legion in Bancroft Ontario, Talk about being treated like gold!!  That is the best legion, by far, I have ever been too!.  Everyone was like family, and when the old vets found out I was in the hall they all grabbed and sat me down to hear "My stories"!!  When I told them I was only there for a beer and to listen to theirs', They said the walls were bored with those stories!

Magic, just magic.  So in the end, it just matters on the legion I guess.

lyned, fight the fight and know that we are here to support you.


dileas

tess

 

[3rd Herd]

Having just returned from yet another trip back to Vancouver Island, I was staying in Port Alberni. Went down to the hotel bar and had just ordered my refreshment when the bartendress asked about about the cammo bracelet I was wearing. A quick explanation and refreshments were on the house. A little later an older gentleman came and sat down, turns out he was a Captain retired from the 17/21 Lancers and we had been in Suffield at the same time. His other interesting carear point was service in Malaysia and his story is chronicled in "The Jungle is Neutral". As the night progressed more refreshments kept appearing for the two of us. Asking the bartendress who was responsible for this largess she pointed out several tables of mill workers. I went over to thank them and the foreman replied "None of us had the guts to join the military but you two over there both had and pass on to your buddies still in that we support them". The next evening I went into the dinning room for dinner and an older couple asked if they could join me, no problem. It turned out their son is x-Airborne and did I know him(yes) and did I know of a way he could track down some of his old buddies. I laughed and said the quickest method would be through this site and then wrote step by step instructions for them.

 

[a_majoor]

It is hard to understand that attitude in smaller towns. The most moving Remembrance Day parade I ever attended was at a small town, and it wasn't just the usual "Mayor, Chamber of Commerce, Local Legion" laying wreaths, but family members representing their own (some apparently continuing a tradition three generations old at that time[mid-1980's]).

Perhaps due to the passing of time, the personal links that bound people have faded. If there is no one left to lay a wreath for their Grandfather (A soldier of the Great War) or their elder Uncle (Korea), then the act of remembrance is no longer personal. I would hope that the families of our soldiers, past and present, attend Remembrance day in a visible fashion (laying a wreath or a poppy for a relative, perhaps) to remind everyone the true cost of freedom.

 

[scas]

Well, I personally think some of these small towns need a swift kick. My old town (Chatham, Ont.) used to have a bad attitude about the local unit (about 35 in total). We have 2 legions, but they leave us alone, and we left them alone. But for us, the watering hole along main st. was the place to be. When we went out, the six of us, would hit the downtown, and as soon as we got to a place we were basically welcomed by all staff and patrons. And this was before Afganistan began. After that mission began, and members of our unit deployed, certain establishments (no names), would basically throw a party for the guys leaving. Support like that is seldom heard of by guys in the regs, but its hopefully a start to some of the circumstances that others have faced.

 

[Mike Baker]

Our town supports the military 110%. I guess it is because there have been many people from here who have been in the forces, and connections to others that are in there now. Most people do have a yellow ribbon on their property, and most people, like at our school wear red on Fridays. Not bad for a town of less then 200!