VICKI & DON HOME ON THE SEA ROAD. MS ROTTERDAM AT SEA IN NORTH SEA AREA DAILY DATA REPORT: VOLUME 2018, EDITION - APRIL DATA FOR

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1 VICKI & DON HOME ON THE SEA ROAD. MS ROTTERDAM AT SEA IN NORTH SEA AREA DAILY DATA REPORT: VOLUME 2018, EDITION - APRIL DATA FOR SUNDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2018 THOUGHTS OF MARK TWAIN Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, 1 PAGE Discover.

2 SUNDAY APRIL 29TH HOME ON THE SEA ROAD. (DAY 17) HOLLAND AMERICA MS ROTTERDAM, CABIN PORT OF ZEEBRUGGE, BELGIUM THE PLAN OF THE DAY: TAKE TOUR BUS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE. TYNE COT COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES CEMETERY TYNE COT COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING IS A COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION (CWGC) BURIAL GROUND FOR THE DEAD OF THE WWI IN THE YPRES SALIENT ON THE WESTERN FRONT. IT IS THE LARGEST CEMETERY FOR COMMONWEALTH FORCES FORCES IN THE WORLD: FOR ANY WAR. (TOTAL BURIALS 11,965) THE CEMETERY AND ITS SURROUNDING MEMORIAL ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF ZONNEBEKE, BELGIUM. 2 PAGE

3 TYNE COT CWGC CEMETERY LIES ON A BROAD RISE IN THE LANDSCAPE WHICH OVERLOOKS THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE. THE LOCATION WAS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT TO BOTH SIDES FIGHTING IN THE AREA. THE CONCRETE SHELTERS WHICH STILL STAND IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CEMETERY WERE PART OF A FORTIFIED POSITION OF THE GERMAN FLANDERN I STELLUNG, (FLANDERS POSITION) WHICH PLAYED AN IMPORTANT TACTICAL ROLE DURING THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE IN TYNE COT MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING THE STONE WALL SURROUNDING THE CEMETERY MAKES-UP THE TYNE COT MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING, ONE OF SEVERAL COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION MEMORIALS TO THE MISSING ALONG THE WESTERN FRONT. THE UK MISSING LOST IN THE YPRES SALIENT ARE COMMEMORATED AT THE MENIN GATE MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING IN YPRES AND THE TYNE COT MEMORIAL. THE MEMORIAL CONTAINS THE NAMES OF 33,783 SOLDIERS OF THE UK FORCES, PLUS A FURTHER 1,176 NEW ZEALANDERS. (TOTAL= 34,939 NAMES) BRITISH VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS THREE BRITISH ARMY VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS ARE COMMEMORATED HERE. 3 PAGE

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8 AS WE LEFT THESE HOLLOWED GROUNDS: WE PASS THE SIMPLE WORDS, THAT SAY SO MUCH, BY RUDYARD KIPLING.. 8 PAGE

9 WE BOARDED UP ON THE BUS AND AWAY WE WENT TOWARD WHAT WE WERE TOLD WAS THE EYE OF THE WAR.. ON THE WAY WE WERE TOLD ABOUT FLANDERS FIELDS: FROM 1914 TO 1918 FLANDERS FIELDS AREA, IN BELGIUM, WAS A MAJOR BATTLE THEATRE OF WWI. A MILLION SOLDIERS FROM MORE THAN 50 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WERE WOUNDED, MISSING OR KILLED IN ACTION HERE. ENTIRE CITIES AND VILLAGES WERE DESTROYED, THEIR POPULATION ON THE RUN. YPRES AND PASSCHENDAELE BECAME WORLDWIDE SYMBOLS FOR THE SENSELESSNESS OF WAR. TODAY, THE PEACEFUL REGION STILL BEARS WITNESS TO THIS HISTORY IN MONUMENTS, MUSEUMS, CEMETERIES AND THE COUNTLESS INDIVIDUAL STORIES THAT LINK IT WITH THE WORLD. WE ARE BOUND FOR ONE SUCH MONUMENT IN THE TOWN OF MENENPOORT. 9 PAGE

10 THE MENIN GATE MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING IS A WAR MEMORIAL IN YPRES, BELGIUM, DEDICATED TO THE BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS WHO WERE KILLED IN THE YPRES SALIENT OF WWI AND WHOSE GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN. THE MEMORIAL IS LOCATED AT THE EASTERN EXIT OF THE TOWN OF MENENPOORT AND MARKS THE STARTING POINT FOR ONE OF THE MAIN ROADS OUT OF THE TOWN THAT LED ALLIED SOLDIERS TO THE FRONT LINE. DESIGNED, BUILT AND MAINTAINED BY THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION, THE MENEN GATE MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED ON 24 JULY HISTORICALLY, THE MENIN GATE OF YPRES WAS SIMPLY A CROSSING POINT OVER THE MOAT AND THROUGH THE RAMPARTS OF THE OLD TOWN FORTIFICATIONS, ON THE ROAD TO THE NEARBY TOWN OF MENIN. IT HAD A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE TROOPS THOUGH: IT WAS FROM THIS SPOT THAT THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS SET OFF FOR THE PART OF THE FRONT CALLED THE YPRES SALIENT MANY DESTINED NEVER TO RETURN. THE VAST, WHITE, PORTLAND-STONE WALLS OF THE MENIN GATE ARE ENGRAVED WITH THE NAMES OF NEARLY 55,000 BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS LOST ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE BUT WITH NO KNOWN GRAVES; A SON, A FATHER, A BROTHER. IN FACT THE WALLS OF THE MENIN GATE WERE NOT BIG ENOUGH: A FURTHER 34,957 NAMES OF THE LAST AND UNTRACED ARE INSCRIBED ON THE WALLS OF TYNE COT CEMETERY TO THE EAST OF YPRES. 10 PAGE

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12 THIS IS A MUST SEE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS AREA.. WOW! WHAT A SIGHT! 12 PAGE

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14 ABOVE IS A LISTING BOOK OF EVERY PERSON LISTED ON THE WALLS AND THEIR LOCATION. THERE IS ALSO A SMART PHONE APP NOW FOR THIS PURPOSE. THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT ALL OF THESE PEOPLE DIED OVER 100 YEARS AGO.. 14 PAGE

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16 THE "LAST POST" IS EITHER A B BUGLE CALL WITHIN BRITISH INFANTRY REGIMENTS, OR AN E CAVALRY TRUMPET CALL IN BRITISH CAVALRY AND ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY AND IS USED AT COMMONWEALTH MILITARY FUNERALS, AND CEREMONIES COMMEMORATING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED IN WAR. ITS DURATION VARIES TYPICALLY FROM A LITTLE OVER ONE MINUTE TO NEARLY THREE MINUTES. 16 PAGE

17 EVERY DAY SINCE THE GATE WAS OPENED, IN THE LATE 20 S, LAST POST HAS BEEN SOUNDED, EVEN IN RAIN AND SNOW. WHAT A GREAT HONOR THIS IS. 19:00: People Gather at the Menin Gate 19:30: The Traffic is Stopped 19:55 : The Buglers Arrive 20:00: Sounding of Last Post 17 PAGE

18 WE HAVE TRAVELED ON TO THE DESTINATION OF THE IN FLANDERS FIELD MUSEUM INTHE CITY OF YPRES, BELGIUM. 18 PAGE

19 THE IN FLANDERS' FIELDS MUSEUM THE IN FLANDERS' FIELDS MUSEUM IS A MUSEUM IN YPRES (IEPER), BELGIUM, DEDICATED TO THE STUDY OF WWI. IT OCCUPIES THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE CLOTH HALL (LAKENHALLE) ON THE MARKET SQUARE IN THE CITY CENTRE. THE BUILDING WAS LARGELY DESTROYED BY ARTILLERY DURING THE WAR, BUT WAS AFTERWARDS RECONSTRUCTED. IN 1998 THE ORIGINAL YPRES SALIENT MEMORIAL MUSEUM WAS REFURBISHED AND RENAMED IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSEUM AFTER THE FAMOUS POEM BY CANADIAN JOHN MCCRAE. THE MUSEUM DOES NOT SET OUT TO GLORIFY WAR, BUT TO SUGGEST ITS FUTILITY, PARTICULARLY AS SEEN IN THE WEST FLANDERS FRONT REGION IN WORLD WAR I. 19 PAGE

20 IN FLANDERS FIELDS BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN McCrae, MD IN FLANDERS FIELDS THE POPPIES BLOW BETWEEN THE CROSSES, ROW ON ROW, THAT MARK OUR PLACE; AND IN THE SKY THE LARKS, STILL BRAVELY SINGING, FLY SCARCE HEARD AMID THE GUNS BELOW. WE ARE THE DEAD. SHORT DAYS AGO WE LIVED, FELT DAWN, SAW SUNSET GLOW, LOVED AND WERE LOVED, AND NOW WE LIE IN FLANDERS FIELDS. TAKE UP OUR QUARREL WITH THE FOE: TO YOU FROM FAILING HANDS WE THROW THE TORCH; BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH. IF YE BREAK FAITH WITH US WHO DIE WE SHALL NOT SLEEP, THOUGH POPPIES GROW IN FLANDERS FIELDS. 20 PAGE

21 THOUGHTS BY DON ALLEN THE IN FLANDERS' FIELDS MUSEUM WAS A VERY HARD MUSEUM TO TOUR AND UNDERSTAND. MUCH OF THE IT WAS IN AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.. FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND I THINK, A MIX OF BELGIUM AND DUTCH. NONE OF THE AUDIO VISUAL DISPLAYS MADE ANY SENSE TO ME. THERE WAS A MAJOR PART OF IT IN WRITTEN DISPLAYS.. WITH DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS. IT WAS ALL VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND. I WENT THROUGH AND SAID GOLLY GEE WHIZ A LOT. MANY OF THE NEWER AND MODERN MUSEUMS IN EUROPE ARE FOLLOWING THIS AUDIO VISUAL PROGRAM.. THE WAR ROOMS IN LONDON, IN 2014, WERE OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE SEEN SEVERAL OTHERS, AND NOW THIS ONE. I AM SURE THE MUSEUM CURATORS MEAN WELL.. HOWEVER EVERYONE LEAVES WITH GLAZED EYEBALLS. TO WIT: PAGE

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23 I AM STILL NOT SURE WHAT THIS ONE MEANT.. I CROPPED OUT THE FOUR OTHER INTERPRETATIONS. 23 PAGE

24 IT IS VERY HARD TO SHOW WHAT WAS IN THIS MUSEUM SUCH WAS OUR LIFE AT THIS FACILITY.. IT REQUIRED TOO MUCH READING AND WE JUST DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME. 24 PAGE

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27 THE BIRTHPLACE OF "IN FLANDERS FIELDS" THE SITE WHERE THE MOST FAMOUS POEM OF WORLD WAR I WAS COMPOSED IS PRESERVED TO HONOR THE LEGACY OF THE WORK. "IN FLANDERS FIELDS" IS A WAR POEM, WRITTEN DURING THE WWI BY CANADIAN PHYSICIAN LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN MCCRAE.HE WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE IT ON MAY 3, 1915, AFTER PRESIDING OVER THE FUNERAL OF FRIEND AND FELLOW SOLDIER LIEUTENANT ALEXIS HELMER, WHO DIED IN THE 2ND BATTLE OF YPRES. ITS REFERENCES TO THE RED POPPIES THAT GREW OVER THE GRAVES OF FALLEN SOLDIERS RESULTED IN THE RED REMEMBRANCE POPPY BECOMING ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST RECOGNIZED MEMORIAL SYMBOLS FOR SOLDIERS WHO HAVE DIED IN CONFLICT. THE POEM AND POPPY ARE PROMINENT REMEMBRANCE DAY AND MEMORIAL DAY SYMBOLS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ANDTHE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN CANADA, WHERE "IN FLANDERS FIELDS" IS ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST-KNOWN LITERARY WORKS. 27 PAGE

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30 THIS WAS ONE OF THE LAST ASSIGNED DUTY STATIONS FOR LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN MCCRAE MD. HIS MEDICAL ATTACHMENT USED THIS BUNKER FOR THE FRONT LINE INJURED. LT COL MCRRAE DIED OF A WAR INJURY IN EARLY ABOUT THREE YEARS AFTER WRITING THE POEM. 30 PAGE

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32 32 PAGE THIS IS THE GRAVE OF VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENT PRIVATE THOMAS BARRATT WHICH I GAVE A HAND SALUTE.

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35 35 PAGE THROUGH HEAVY RAIN ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE SHIP.. WE GOT BACK JUST IN TIME FOR DINNER.. WOW WHAT A DAY.. AT DINNER I HAD MY MOST FAVORITE: LAMB SHANKS AND BAKED ALASKA

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37 WE ARE ALL GIVING THE COOKING STAFF A VERY WELL DONE.. OUT OF 70 CRUISES THIS IS THE BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.. 37 PAGE

38 THE RIGHT LOVELY ANDREA AMAT PERFORMED THE WONDERFUL FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE IN ONE MINUTE 6 SECONDS IT WAS FUN TO HEAR AND GREAT TO SEE.. 38 PAGE

39 THE PIANIST IS ELLIOT FINKEL. HE HAS BEEN PLAYING FOR HOLLAND AMERICA OVER 30 YEARS. I DON T THINK THERE IS A SINGLE SONG HE DOES NOT KNOW. HE WAS AMAZING. 39 PAGE

40 I THINK IT IS ONLY FITTING AND PROPER TO SHOW THIS GREAT POEM AGAIN TO CLOSE THIS EPISTLE. IT CANNOT BE READ ENOUGH IN FLANDERS FIELDS BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN McCrae, MD IN FLANDERS FIELDS THE POPPIES BLOW BETWEEN THE CROSSES, ROW ON ROW, THAT MARK OUR PLACE; AND IN THE SKY THE LARKS, STILL BRAVELY SINGING, FLY SCARCE HEARD AMID THE GUNS BELOW. WE ARE THE DEAD. SHORT DAYS AGO WE LIVED, FELT DAWN, SAW SUNSET GLOW, LOVED AND WERE LOVED, AND NOW WE LIE IN FLANDERS FIELDS. TAKE UP OUR QUARREL WITH THE FOE: TO YOU FROM FAILING HANDS WE THROW THE TORCH; BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH. IF YE BREAK FAITH WITH US WHO DIE WE SHALL NOT SLEEP, THOUGH POPPIES GROW IN FLANDERS FIELDS. 40 PAGE

41 IT IS TIME TO FINISH THIS DATA. THIS EPISTLE IS DONE. SO LET IT BE WRITTEN: SO LET IT BE DONE. LIFE IS GOOD! LOVE IS BETTER! 41 PAGE