One hundred years ago today

[Little-Acorn]

On June 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian crown prince Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, where he had come to inspect his occupying troops in the empire's eastern province.

The shots fired by Serb teenager Gavrilo Princip were used as an excuse to start World War I (then known as the Great War), which was followed decades later by a second world conflict. Together the two wars cost some 80 million Europeans, Russians, and Americans their lives, and ended four empires.

[stevecanuck]

On June 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian crown prince Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, where he had come to inspect his occupying troops in the empire's eastern province.

The shots fired by Serb teenager Gavrilo Princip were used as an excuse to start World War I (then known as the Great War), which was followed decades later by a second world conflict. Together the two wars cost some 80 million Europeans, Russians, and Americans their lives, and ended four empires.

You forgot about all the Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, and Indians who died. Pretty obvious you're an American.

[Little-Acorn]

Pretty obvious you're an American.

Guilty as charged. :salute:

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

You forgot about all the Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, and Indians who died. Pretty obvious you're an American.
I know this!!!
The Aussies and Canadians fought as bravely as any ever on the battlefield!
And should never be ignored the great contribution they made.
Kiwi, South Africans and Indians most certainly were no slackers themselves!-Tyr

[red state]

Whether we forget who fought or who didn't fight.....WWI was a foolish war (as with most wars) and our founders had the correct notion years ago; "It is our TRUE policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." ~General/President George Washington
Now, given, at the time Washington said this, we were out of money, had our own issues/threats here at home and had our own interests of prosperity to consider BUT.....is this not also the case today?! Has this, in a way, not always been the case? Sure, we may owe France for helping us but, in a way, they simply got the short end of the stick by doing what they did in helping our founders out of greed (just as European nations helped the Confederacy out of European greed). They never helped us in the way that we have helped them during the true GREAT war.

I've heard debates on whether we should have or shouldn't have gotten involved in WWII and that is an 'iffy' quest for me, personally, but I am certain that we could have avoided sending our BEST to any of the other wars we've involved ourselves in. YES, send specialists or hire assassins to take out scum such as OBL but do not send our men and women as sacrifice for another nations prosperity or freedom. We are having a whale of a time keeping our own freedom right here at home.

Now, back to WWI (the war to end all wars). We were extremely foolish to involve ourselves in that one but to jump over to WWII (truly the GREAT one); We may have been forced into that one but we were sticking our nose in it BEFORE we were attacked. I am certain that we would have had to fight due to the mad power hungry leaders in Italy, Germany and Japan but I believe we could have held our own and made them bring it to us instead of sending our boys over there. We had the science fleeing to the US, we had the metal, fuel, guns, food and PLENTY of FIGHT in our hearts to have kept the evil three at bay. It is probable that the Russians and China would/could have done the same thing. I will admit that I'm 'iffy' on this subject and could be dead wrong about how well we would have held up but with the attacks at Pearl Harbor, the California Coast, Alaska and the Eastern Coast of NC, as well as the Gulf, we seemed to have did fairly well....but in no way will I concede that we wouldn't have been better off by keeping to ourselves in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and the mess before those wars (such as WWI and those skirmishes we fought even before WWI in Cuba and the Philippine islands. At best, I'll say that we were just in our war against King George, the war between the States and WWII as well as Korea (possibly) because those were wars against tyranny that imposed a threat to folks who truly wanted freedom. Vietnam wanted hand-outs and we never knew who was for us or against us, most folks in the Southern States knew that the taxation and treatment of the South was wrong and excessive and the people under King George were determined to set things straight if they were to be treated as a people who were "less than subjects" or taxed unfairly/excessively without proper representation.

In short, it is (always has been) a shame for sacred American lives to have been lost 'over there' when we have our own homes to protect. My God! We are scattered and have always scattered ourselves throughout the world and we still have one of our greatest threat just South of the Border that remains WIDE @$$ open to countless (questionable) hoards who seek only prosperity of themselves (at our expense) and those who would destroy our very foundation in the name of their cult. I've always said that our economy and State-to-State situation always kept us strong. As if we were the only ones on the planet and were the only ones to trade this and that with a numerous people within our borders who loved this Union and could stomp the heads of any threat foreign or abroad (till the last century). We, once upon a time, did NOT need anyone else and I'm sure we still don't if only we were allowed to go back to the way we were when we were strong.

[Gaffer]

One hundred years ago was the start of WW1. The war to end all wars, the great war, the last monarchy war, the unnecessary war, the war that changed the borders and created new countries, the war of alliances. It was the war that put the US in the forefront of the world.

My grandfather was in WW1. He was drafted, served in a cavalry troop in France. I know nothing beyond that as he never spoke to anyone about his time there. Even my grandmother couldn't tell us anything.