A Connecticut reader who describes himself as a paratroop veteran from the Korean War era who was lucky to be assigned to Germany, "rather than that slaughter house of Korea," writes: I find this convention that has developed of saying, "thank you for your service" off-putting. It immediately shuts the door.  Nothing more to say except, "Thank you." Puts us in a box. You will never hear veterans speak to each other this way. Besides, the dirty little secret is most of us had the time of our lives. It was great fun. Another reader sends along this message from his brother, a Vietnam vet....

Growing up in the 1950s and '60s in the United States, where right-wing scoundrels turned patriotic symbols into political cudgels, left me with a lifelong aversion to flags, ribbons, lapel pins, and other obligatory trappings of national fealty. When I moved to Canada, this aversion morphed into a disinclination to wear poppies. As best I can tell, most Canadians see the poppy as a neutral symbol of respect for veterans. Social pressure to wear it is strong. Acquaintances and strangers alike view my failure to fall in step as inexplicable, disrespectful, and distasteful. I regret this. After years of attempts to...

Lots of reader mail on HRM's use of force to evict Occupy Nova Scotia protesters camped out on the grassy strip known as Victoria Park.  To start with, Juanita Mckenzie (writing on Facebook): I think it was very distasteful to do this on Remembrance Day...

Contrarian reader RM thinks our post crossed the line: [T]his commentary was in poor taste. Yes, this veteran has every right to comment, but I think it is more important to respect the views of the the family of the fallen soldier. Let us make our comments without seeming to criticize the wishes of the family. Thanks to the many readers who pointed out that our link to CBC-Cape Breton reporter Bobby Nock's interview was broken, and thanks to website wizard Mike Targett for fixing it while Contrarian was helplessly sans Internet over the far Northern Atlantic....

The Globe's Michael Valpy has a thoughtful piece on the burgeoning interest in Remembrance Day commemorations, especially among young people. The graphic below accompanies the article. While researching his namesake, Rev. Miles Tompkins, a First World War army chaplain, Contrarian reader Miles Tompkins came upon some sobering numbers: The waste of human life hit Cape Breton and the Diocese of Antigonish very hard. The diocese runs from Our Lady of Lourdes in Stellarton to the tip of Cape Breton, and even included the Italian Mission and a Syrian Parish in Cape Breton. Well over 500 boys from this diocese were killed in...