The Friday Link for 5/22/26

Hi all! Happy Memorial Day! I hope you have a nice weekend.

Memorial Day is a day to remember the sacrifice of those who have died in battle.  When it comes to remembering those we've lost, World War I stands out as a particularly brutal conflict. I've talked about it in the past, how one day the world wasn't fighting, and almost immediately, there was fighting in every corner of the globe. 

It's not like the US Civil War and World War II didn't also produce brutal fighting, but the intensity and the proximity of World War I were the definition of brutal. 

This video from Battle Guide will highlight what I am talking about:  4 years of constant bombardment and shooting over ONE FIELD! The insanity of war comes to light when you realize that so many people died trying to win one piece of land, a piece of land that was basically a medium-sized park in your neighborhood.  This was ONE spot on the Western Front. 

The survivors made remembrance important after World War I because no one could forget what had happened.

I know I featured some from the Revolutionary War a few weeks back, but this video came across my timeline, and it's a pretty good overview of the battle for American Independence.  It also talks about how that war was not just a war in the colonies, but a global conflict, which Britain horribly mismanaged. 

This is from Kings and Generals. 

Finally, tonight is a military story dear to me. Minnesota saved the Union in 1863 at Gettysburg. The 1st Minnesota holds the distinction of being the military unit with the highest casualty rate that still existed after the battle. Horribly outnumbered, they held the line and saved the day.

And no, you can NEVER get back the flags they captured that day. 

I tear up every time I hear this story. I am so in awe of what those men did that day.  Facing certain death, they didn't blink. I'm proud of the bravery Minnesota showed that day.  There is a reason Minnesota has the 2nd biggest memorial at Gettysburg, after Pennsylvania.

Seeing what real sacrifice is, it sickens me that any Minnesotan sides with the South or the Southern cause today. 

Remember this Monday.

Please make sure you stay up to date on your vaccinations and have a nice weekend.