End of WW2 - 75th anniversary

[KRonn]

I've been watching some of the coverage of events and I especially like seeing and hearing what the vets have to say. It can be quite emotional hearing them talk about it. My father, his two brothers and two of my great uncles were in different areas, Europe and Pacific. They talked about their experiences, and  they all had some tough stories. I was glad they did talk about it, because I felt it was important to know what they went through and I figured it helped them by talking, not bottling things up. Some of their stories would have made John Wayne cringe to re-enact it in movie scenes. I wrote down and saved their stories. Sadly, they're all gone now.

[dps]

I once read that big wars tend to occur after everyone from the last big war is dead.  Hopefully that's not true.

Major wars are generally more frequent than that, with some wiggle room depending on how you define a "big war".

[Tamas]

I grew up fascinated by my grandparents' and their generation's WW2 stories. Granted, almost all of them were civilians, teenagers, or young adults. It is weird to think this generation is now almost entirely gone.

As I keep saying, it cannot be entirely a coincidence that as they are completely removed from society by death and old age, belligerence in the world grows.

[The Brain]

I once read that big wars tend to occur after everyone from the last big war is dead.  Hopefully that's not true.

Major wars are generally more frequent than that, with some wiggle room depending on how you define a "big war".

Wiggle wiggle?

[Richard Hakluyt]

I recall when Argentina invaded the Falklands back in 1983; there was animated discussion on the factory floor where I was working at the time. All the young guys were livid and wanted the Argentinians thrown out, they didn't even stop to think about the difficulties. Meanwhile all the old dudes, WW2 veterans, stroked their chins and deliberated carefully....."...I don't know, war is a nasty business...".

[The Brain]

I recall when Argentina invaded the Falklands back in 1983;

OK Tim.

[Richard Hakluyt]

*cough cough* er 1982 

[Josquius]

I once read that big wars tend to occur after everyone from the last big war is dead.  Hopefully that's not true.

Things are certainly heading in that direction.
Shocking how a century after the end of WW1 we are repeating the same mistakes.

[Threviel]

Well. No one, or at least very few, run around and want a nice cleansing war to teach the young ones important life lessons. So no, we are not doing the same mistake as in WW1, you would have more luck comparing to WW2.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm trying to think of a single mistake of WWI we're repeating.

[Monoriu]

The real life stories I heard from people who actually experienced WWII were all variations of "Japs were monsters" and "we were lucky enough to escape". 

[Josquius]

Well. No one, or at least very few, run around and want a nice cleansing war to teach the young ones important life lessons. So no, we are not doing the same mistake as in WW1, you would have more luck comparing to WW2.

You havent been in the UK in recent years then?

[Razgovory]

I'm trying to think of a single mistake of WWI we're repeating.

The rise of Nationalism.

[Maladict]

The look of a 97 year old veteran who has seen it all 

[mongers]

Sobering that in the 75th anniversary year we're retreating from Europe, largely motivated by a fear of 'foreigners' and an general ignorance of what the EU is. 

There will be trouble ahead.