Heavy Artillery

The tomb of the unknown soldier in Ottawa is very well done, here. Mostly I just notice them around, since every town has a little one. For the US ones, the black wall with names on it is well done, I think.

(Though frankly, my favourite, if one can have a favourite for such things, is the SPITE put in by Quartermaster General Meigs in the Civil War. The Union had seized some of General Lee's wife's property because she couldn't pay taxes on it ((HOW?)), and Meigs literally buried his son who'd been killed by the Confederates right in front of Lee's front porch. ie, where Arlington got its start.)

Going to France though, is a whole other kettle of fish. You notice how in say BoB they're always leaning against a cenotaph. Those are in TINY towns, and they're covered in names from WWI, like whole families just gone, in every town, and in bigger cities like Nantes, it's a whole wall.

Like, it just went on and on, the wall, probably the length of a block, and in the middle of it, there was a tiny plaque for WWII and Vietnam:


(There was also a great naked lady with her arms raised in victory for the Marne at the other end of the square, because nothing says "yay!" like a naked lady.)

I mean, we also found a monument that the French had built to thank the Americans for showing up in WWI, the Germans had blown up in WWII, and the French had rebuilt thereafter. It said ""They have destroyed it. We shell restore it."

Which I like as an overall sentiment for the day as well.