The Great war

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Tuesday 23.2.2010 day 133
Belgian - Ypres (Ieper)
We went to Ypres and the Australian 5th battalion memorial and cemetery in the fields of Flanders. It was very sad to see so many from Australian, NZ and Canadians die so far from home in a war that was not really even there’s. We found a grave of an Australian soldier call Flanders so he died in his ancestral home.
We then drove to the Tyne Cot Cemetery the largest British Commonwealth was cemetery in the world there are 11,956 soldiers burries here. There are speakers that read out the names of the dead and then make you walk from the back though so you have to see the size of it. There was a group of young girl and boy military cadets there when we where there and some were very interested and some clearly were not interested at all. I not understand war I understand that narcissistic men who run countries have falling out with other narcissistic men who run countries but what I do not understand is how they can talk thousands of other man to go into battle and fight for them. All the soldiers on both sides do not have a problem with the guys on the other side why did they not just get together and call a truth and get rid of the men that made them fight in the first place? They buried one another dead even! There are farm house and field were then men fought for years and died in agony I could not walk in the area without having images of men fighting dying and the sounds of screaming in my head we have all seem the war film and these images and sounds come rushing in. I could not live so close to this.
We also went to the Menin Gate is a huge white gate that you drive though just before the centre of town that has the names of 54,896 British and commonwealth troops who lost their lives in this area and have no graves. Every night at 8 traffic is stoped as buglers play the last post. The residents of this town much really understand the cost of war.

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