Real Life/Tear Jerker/Memorials and Epitaphs: Difference between revisions

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** Actually there is, it's in Kansas City.
** Actually there is, it's in Kansas City.
*** Not to diminish anything, but according to their website. It's the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial, according to their website. And, again, no offense to the fine people of Missouri, even if the memorial WERE theoretically the national WWI memorial... sorry, but it's still in Kansas City. I'm a bit provincial, I admit, but "National Memorial" kinda means "in DC," to a lot of people.
*** Not to diminish anything, but according to their website. It's the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial, according to their website. And, again, no offense to the fine people of Missouri, even if the memorial WERE theoretically the national WWI memorial... sorry, but it's still in Kansas City. I'm a bit provincial, I admit, but "National Memorial" kinda means "in DC," to a lot of people.
**** Too late. I already feel diminished. [http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index_community.aspx Liberty Memorial] is right across the street and up the hill from [http://www.unionstation.org/ Union Station]. During the mobilization of the war, it was a major waystation for troops crossing the country for training or deployment. Also, one of the more famous veterans of WWI was [[Harry Truman]] who was from the Kansas City area (Independence and Grandview.)
**** Too late. I already feel diminished. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130404012237/http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index_community.aspx Liberty Memorial] is right across the street and up the hill from [http://www.unionstation.org/ Union Station]. During the mobilization of the war, it was a major waystation for troops crossing the country for training or deployment. Also, one of the more famous veterans of WWI was [[Harry Truman]] who was from the Kansas City area (Independence and Grandview.)
**** And "'National Memorial' kinda means 'in DC'" is just not nice.
**** And "'National Memorial' kinda means 'in DC'" is just not nice.
*** In the museum at the Liberty memorial, there's a glass walkway above a field of 9,000 artificial poppies, each representing a thousand soldiers who died on the western front. The sheer scale of it, and the fact that it only represents a portion of the deaths in World War I, makes me tear up every time.
*** In the museum at the Liberty memorial, there's a glass walkway above a field of 9,000 artificial poppies, each representing a thousand soldiers who died on the western front. The sheer scale of it, and the fact that it only represents a portion of the deaths in World War I, makes me tear up every time.
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*** This troper went on a trip to that same museum when he was in 8th grade. The teachers warned us in advance that it was not going to be a happy "ha-ha" trip. I've got to tell you, to go from one floor where all positive aspects of Jewish culture are celebrated, [[Mood Whiplash|ending with a small display on the Marx Brothers and then going up the stairs to see the beginning of the Holocaust exhibits was jarring.]] Even 6 years later it still gives me chills.
*** This troper went on a trip to that same museum when he was in 8th grade. The teachers warned us in advance that it was not going to be a happy "ha-ha" trip. I've got to tell you, to go from one floor where all positive aspects of Jewish culture are celebrated, [[Mood Whiplash|ending with a small display on the Marx Brothers and then going up the stairs to see the beginning of the Holocaust exhibits was jarring.]] Even 6 years later it still gives me chills.
** In this troper's Literature of the Holocaust class, the teacher was an absolute genius at getting the message across. At one point he brought a plastic box full of toothpicks to class. That is, ''completely full'' - you could not put anything else in this box. "This box contains 40,000 toothpicks," said the teacher, "and if we covered the walls of this room with boxes like this, we would ''just barely'' match the death toll of the Holocaust, in toothpicks." To this troper, no other analogy has ever come close to a box full of toothpicks in portraying the horror of the Holocaust.
** In this troper's Literature of the Holocaust class, the teacher was an absolute genius at getting the message across. At one point he brought a plastic box full of toothpicks to class. That is, ''completely full'' - you could not put anything else in this box. "This box contains 40,000 toothpicks," said the teacher, "and if we covered the walls of this room with boxes like this, we would ''just barely'' match the death toll of the Holocaust, in toothpicks." To this troper, no other analogy has ever come close to a box full of toothpicks in portraying the horror of the Holocaust.
*** Your teacher may have visited the museum at Auschwitz, which uses a very similar method to convey the magnitude of what happened there. You will walk into a room and behind a sheet of glass will be an entire other room full of [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&func=detail&id=893=3 hair] or [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&Itemid=3&func=detail&id=883#ponyimg eyeglasses] or [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&func=detail&id=869&Itemid=3 shoes]. These are not props. They're the real artifacts that belonged to victims of the Holocaust. That's a definite tearjerker.
*** Your teacher may have visited the museum at Auschwitz, which uses a very similar method to convey the magnitude of what happened there. You will walk into a room and behind a sheet of glass will be an entire other room full of [https://web.archive.org/web/20100618131542/http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&func=detail&id=893=3 hair] or [https://web.archive.org/web/20100618125644/http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&Itemid=3&func=detail&id=883#ponyimg eyeglasses] or [https://web.archive.org/web/20100618121238/http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&func=detail&id=869&Itemid=3 shoes]. These are not props. They're the real artifacts that belonged to victims of the Holocaust. That's a definite tearjerker.
** It was the hair that made this troper lose it. The shoes and clothes and other items ''belonged'' to the victims, but the hair ''was actually part of them.'' I couldn't deal with it.
** It was the hair that made this troper lose it. The shoes and clothes and other items ''belonged'' to the victims, but the hair ''was actually part of them.'' I couldn't deal with it.
** This German troper has been to two death camps so far, and both were an empathic punch to the gut. The sheer atmosphere of these places is so full of sadness, there are no words.
** This German troper has been to two death camps so far, and both were an empathic punch to the gut. The sheer atmosphere of these places is so full of sadness, there are no words.
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**** A small memorial for six million, and for seven.
**** A small memorial for six million, and for seven.
** The thing that got this troper was the baby clothes. Just ... the baby clothes.
** The thing that got this troper was the baby clothes. Just ... the baby clothes.
** [[Loracarol|This troper]] and her Papa visited [[wikipedia:Neuengamme|Neuengamme]] [http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/rz3a035//neuengamme1.html Concentration Camnp] in Hamburg. It was... Chilling. If Ghosts exist, this would ''definately'' one of the places that they do.
** [[Loracarol|This troper]] and her Papa visited [[wikipedia:Neuengamme|Neuengamme]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130706234835/http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/rz3a035/neuengamme1.html Concentration Camnp] in Hamburg. It was... Chilling. If Ghosts exist, this would ''definately'' one of the places that they do.
** What got to [[Accela|This Troper]] was the message outside the D.C. Holocaust Memorial, with the statement about how we must never forget what happened, nor allow it to happen again. And inside the memorial is this small area dedicated to the massacres in Darfur and the Sudan. We HAVE allowed it to happen again...in Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda...That just broke my heart.
** What got to [[Accela|This Troper]] was the message outside the D.C. Holocaust Memorial, with the statement about how we must never forget what happened, nor allow it to happen again. And inside the memorial is this small area dedicated to the massacres in Darfur and the Sudan. We HAVE allowed it to happen again...in Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda...That just broke my heart.
** [http://www.pbs.org/eliewiesel/life/auschwitz.html The speech] Elie Wiesel gave at the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where he was an inmate.
** [http://www.pbs.org/eliewiesel/life/auschwitz.html The speech] Elie Wiesel gave at the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where he was an inmate.
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a foreign field
a foreign field
That is forever England. }}
That is forever England. }}
** Those lines are taken from the poem [http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15695 "The Soldier"] by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915), a young, talented poet from Cambridge who died in [[WW 1]]. A tear jerker indeed.
** Those lines are taken from the poem [https://web.archive.org/web/20131208052347/http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15695 "The Soldier"] by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915), a young, talented poet from Cambridge who died in [[WW 1]]. A tear jerker indeed.
* The Vietnam War Memorial in DC can be a wrenchingly sad place- people still leave flags, roses and other small memorials to the people listed there. But if you really want to make this troper cry, take her there when the staff are clearing them all away.
* The Vietnam War Memorial in DC can be a wrenchingly sad place- people still leave flags, roses and other small memorials to the people listed there. But if you really want to make this troper cry, take her there when the staff are clearing them all away.
** You should visit the rooms where the keep it all...
** You should visit the rooms where the keep it all...
*** [[This Troper]] has seen a documentary on the people who collect everything. They document it, lovingly store it all, and above all, honor it for what it is. Many of the people in the show had to take breaks during the interviews from being overcome with emotion at some of the items that have been left.
*** [[This Troper]] has seen a documentary on the people who collect everything. They document it, lovingly store it all, and above all, honor it for what it is. Many of the people in the show had to take breaks during the interviews from being overcome with emotion at some of the items that have been left.
** [http://dva.state.wi.us/Graphics/VietnamMemorial.jpg This painting] is both extremely poignant in showing the utter futility of the Vietnam war, the pain felt from losing friends that continues to hurt years after, and the fact that 35 to 40 years after coming home, over ''five hundred thousand'' men are still fighting the Vietnam War.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20130121130901/http://dva.state.wi.us/Graphics/VietnamMemorial.jpg This painting] is both extremely poignant in showing the utter futility of the Vietnam war, the pain felt from losing friends that continues to hurt years after, and the fact that 35 to 40 years after coming home, over ''five hundred thousand'' men are still fighting the Vietnam War.
*** Try viewing it while listening to the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz8PISGCWh8 If you're Reading This]
*** Try viewing it while listening to the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz8PISGCWh8 If you're Reading This]
** Thank you for that pointer, the painting is indeed poignant. But I saw one that affected me even more when I visited the Wall a few years ago. Same reflection on the Wall side, with a GI in fatigues carrying a rifle reaching forward to the Wall itself, but on our side was a young boy reaching toward the Wall, with his grandfather holding his other hand. I am crying as I am typing this.
** Thank you for that pointer, the painting is indeed poignant. But I saw one that affected me even more when I visited the Wall a few years ago. Same reflection on the Wall side, with a GI in fatigues carrying a rifle reaching forward to the Wall itself, but on our side was a young boy reaching toward the Wall, with his grandfather holding his other hand. I am crying as I am typing this.
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** This troper remembers seeing a photo of a 1920s-era Canada Day (Dominion Day) parade with four women in a car saying "These four mothers gave 28 brave sons." Do the math. Troper's hometown lost 126 men out of 8000 total residents.
** This troper remembers seeing a photo of a 1920s-era Canada Day (Dominion Day) parade with four women in a car saying "These four mothers gave 28 brave sons." Do the math. Troper's hometown lost 126 men out of 8000 total residents.
*** There are war memorials all over the place in Britain. And there are about 41 [http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/ThankfulVillages.htm Thankful Villages] in England and Wales that ''didn't'' lose anyone in the Great War. That's less than one lucky village per county.
*** There are war memorials all over the place in Britain. And there are about 41 [http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/ThankfulVillages.htm Thankful Villages] in England and Wales that ''didn't'' lose anyone in the Great War. That's less than one lucky village per county.
* The [http://homepage.mac.com/stevesimonphoto/Murambi%20Memorial/index.html "Murambi Genocide Memorial"] [http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/7997 "in Rwanda"] (graphic images warning) is chilling in its simplicity. It consist of a school where the classrooms are full of the mummified bodies of the massacred and heartbreakingly some rooms full of dead children. This troper found the worst was seeing the faces frozen mid scream with visible wounds and still sporting hair and clothes... The fact the guide witnessed his entire family murdered on the site and has a hole from a bullet in his head turned really brings the horror even further home.
* The [https://web.archive.org/web/20120319181904/http://homepage.mac.com/stevesimonphoto/Murambi%20Memorial/index.html "Murambi Genocide Memorial"] [http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/7997 "in Rwanda"] (graphic images warning) is chilling in its simplicity. It consist of a school where the classrooms are full of the mummified bodies of the massacred and heartbreakingly some rooms full of dead children. This troper found the worst was seeing the faces frozen mid scream with visible wounds and still sporting hair and clothes... The fact the guide witnessed his entire family murdered on the site and has a hole from a bullet in his head turned really brings the horror even further home.
* ''The Fisherman's Wife'', a statue of a woman looking out over the sea in this Swedish troper's home city of Gothenburg. It is a memorial to all those Swedish non-combatant fishermen and merchant mariners that perished at sea during the two World Wars. Seeing it always fills the mind with sadness.
* ''The Fisherman's Wife'', a statue of a woman looking out over the sea in this Swedish troper's home city of Gothenburg. It is a memorial to all those Swedish non-combatant fishermen and merchant mariners that perished at sea during the two World Wars. Seeing it always fills the mind with sadness.
** The British memorial for their own fishermen and merchant mariners reads: "The twenty-four thousand of the merchant navy and fishing fleets whose names are honored on the walls of this garden gave their lives for their country and have no grave but the sea."
** The British memorial for their own fishermen and merchant mariners reads: "The twenty-four thousand of the merchant navy and fishing fleets whose names are honored on the walls of this garden gave their lives for their country and have no grave but the sea."
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* Try going to Andersonville in Georgia, knowing the history of the place. It's a few minutes north of Americus. Being there wasn't exactly a tear jerker for me, but it had that sort of aura around it that made me want to keep from speaking too loudly, and I caught some of my less composed classmates crying at intervals.
* Try going to Andersonville in Georgia, knowing the history of the place. It's a few minutes north of Americus. Being there wasn't exactly a tear jerker for me, but it had that sort of aura around it that made me want to keep from speaking too loudly, and I caught some of my less composed classmates crying at intervals.
* [[wikipedia:Tsitsernakaberd|Tsitsernakaberd]], a memorial to the Armenian Genocide, which was a precursor to the Holocaust. The accompanying museum is what really gets the water works going; to think that human beings are capable of such intense cruelty, brutality and butchery to one another, and on top of it, to continue to deny that it ever happened at all.
* [[wikipedia:Tsitsernakaberd|Tsitsernakaberd]], a memorial to the Armenian Genocide, which was a precursor to the Holocaust. The accompanying museum is what really gets the water works going; to think that human beings are capable of such intense cruelty, brutality and butchery to one another, and on top of it, to continue to deny that it ever happened at all.
* The Sarajevo Roses, one of the most beautiful and poignant ways of commemorating the loss of human life that may have ever been devised. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Rose\]
* The Sarajevo Roses, one of the most beautiful and poignant ways of commemorating the loss of human life that may have ever been devised. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170329034325/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Rose]
* This story: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24213454/ Warsaw ghetto's 220 young fighters honored]
* This story: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24213454/ Warsaw ghetto's 220 young fighters honored]
** And this quote in particular
** And this quote in particular
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