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<ni> komet: You are functionally illiterate as regards trashy erotica.

it is my favourite quote of the war from Captain John Wright of 4 Sqn AFC:

On the morning of 11th November, 1918, I was sitting in my [Sopwith] Snipe at 8 a.m just about to "wave the chocks away" and take off to bomb and shoot-up the busy rail junction of Ath, which was an important link in the German line of communications. Just as I was about to give the signal to the other five machines, I noticed signs of a commotion on the tarmac, a lot of waving of arms by the people there. A figure detached itself and with much furious waving of arms, came galloping out on the airfield in my direction. I waited until an orderly from the Sqd. office arrived very much out of breath, and gasped out his message, "Flight 'washed-out' Sir, Cancelled! Peace has been signed!" When he got his breath back, he gave me more details. The Armistice was to operate from 11.am, no more offensive moves were to be made.

I sat for a minute or two in the machine while the news sank in, trying to grasp all the implications, while my prop ticked over. I thought to myself, "perhaps its only a false alarm, but it washes out this flight, anyhow". I detached my Verey pistol [flare] from the fitting, inserted a white cartridge, and aiming into the air away from the other machines and the Airfield buildings, fired the regulation signal "washing-out" the flight, and taxied back to the tarmac in front of our hangar, followed by the other five Snipes. I still felt dubious about it, I felt there must be some mistake.

For the rest of the morning, I, with most of the other pilots of the Sqd. zooned around the airfield buildings and our quarters feeling like fish out of water. We still doubted the news, we really were unable to think clearly. However, when 11 a.m. came we began to show a little more interest. We began to notice the unearthly silence from the direction of the front line, where previously the dull roar of guns, and crackle of musketry fire was the familiar sound; there was now a dead silence. We began to think, it must be right after all; the war could be over!

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic

This is getting a lot of coverage in the UK today. I wouldn't mind a read, but 9.95 for what sounds like a DRM'd copy or custom app is putting me off and I'd have thought they could manage a bit more than 50p on the charitable donation...

It is a cross in the Phillipines.

Two silver stars.

An unsung founder of what became the SEALS. That stuff you read about in Cryptonomicon? He did it.

Described in Steinbecks' Once There Was a War, he was the one who compared naval battles to chamber music, and complained he'd never had any bass to compose with.

"we had a little over an hour to see the entire zoo. we scanned the map, and decided on what is most urgent: wombats." misslake

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie;

Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen, KIA, 4 Nov 1918.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

If memory serves.  Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae.  Not many remember the Great War anymore.  They are almost all gone.

Well done, thank you.

Gedvondur
"It is virtually impossible to effectively aim a jellyfish, a creature created by God almost solely for the purpose of not flying."- CRwM