Originally Posted by
Pogmothoin
....why wear such a symbol into such a city? Why wear it to Germany but especially Dresden?
Well I did um and err about it for quite some time, but on balance I thought it would be hypocritical to take it off specifically in Dresden. The victims of Dresden were as much part of the horrific sacrifice made in the name of freedom as those who fought. I did feel uncomfortable about it, I had recently read some Kurt Vonnegut and it was difficult to get beyond feelings of shame and guilt, but as mentioned elsewhere, the local reaction was 101% positive. One young German approached me in the street and asked me how he could buy a Poppy.
Originally Posted by
Pogmothoin
Their press conference today in Dublin will have one thing missing and thats a poppy.
There is of course
an Irish version of the Poppy, which isn't very visible apart perhaps from the 3,700 Republic of Ireland citizens currently serving in the UK Forces, but it has the shamrock fronted by the poppy and raises money specifically for the many tens of thousands Irish veterans still alive.