A handsome face on a page ...

[Smiles]

Early this morning: sipping coffee in my favourite caf├й here in the boonies of British Columbia, reading The Vancouver Sun, I stumbled across a series of articles there relating to Canada's participation in The Great War (Part the 1).
My eye immediately fell upon a pair of very old photographs of two young Asian men in army duds: a Mr Wee Tan Louie and his brother Mr Wee Hong Louie.




I must admit right off the mark that my first glance honed in on Mr Wee Hong. A glance soon became admiration, then a vague lust at his peacefully handsome and quite sensuous face, looking straight at me. Those lips.
My first thoughts were somewhat along the lines of the classic 'I-wouldn't-throw-him-outta-bed' moment, but that did not last long (though long enough to feel tiny drops of sweat appear on my upper lip) and I very soon started to read the article itself.
A very sad/sweet story that I hope you will take the time to read from the link provided below. The Louie brothers were born in Canada though they were not allowed Canadian citizenship because of their Chinese-ness: the Way-it-Was back then.
I must admit to getting rather choked up a number of times while reading this. Interesting to note that Mr. William Mackenzie King played a part in this story. He was Prime Minister of Canada during World War (Part the 2) and has had quite bad press over the years for being rather bland and lacking any discernable emotion on most occasions. But he stepped up to do the right thing in this case.
I hope you can enjoy this story as I did: http://ww1.canada.com/faces-of-war/vanc ... -world-war

[joe552]

A fascinating story, Smiles, thanks for the link. My grandfather fought in WW1 and I've spent a lot of time researching his army service. These guys truly were heroes.

[lego]

Smiles, great story! Thanks a lot for sharing. :ymapplause:

My grandfather fought in WW1

That makes you quite old, then. Mine fought in WW2.

These guys truly were heroes.

Were there heroes on both sides? What was the greater good of all humanity? For Europe this was the most self-indulgent, foolish, unnecessary conflict of recent time.

Hero [definition] "A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) (Ancient Greek: с╝е╧Б╧Й╧В, hс╕Чr┼Нs) refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrificeтАФthat is, heroismтАФfor some greater good of all humanity."

[joe552]

Lego, I am quite old - 58. My grandfather also served in the Boer War and was posted to India in about 1904.

kommentariat - yes it was a shocking waste of life for nothing - but the individuals who fought deserve our respect.

[LoveThailand]

I agree, Joe. While the war itself could have been pointless - many people demonstrated personal heroism and deserve to be remembered and respected.

[Smiles]

Talk about longevity: Mr Wee Tan's widow is still of this earth ... living in Vancouver. She is 103 years old.

[joe552]

No doubt she'd think I'm a young man, Lego. btw, my mother is 93 and still going strong.

[Rogie]

Click on the right hand side of the page - Virtual Gramophone - for some WW1 songs from 1915.