Re-up: Remembrance Day at The LTC

A poem reminded me to re-post this video.


Remembrance Day from BillPutnamPhoto on Vimeo. 

I meant to post this Tuesday but heading out sort of, well, got in the way. Then I saw a video today my cousin Debbie posted of Sean Bean reading "Anthem For Doomed Youth," a poem by Wilfred Owen and that sort of reminded me to repost my piece. 

I shot this short piece at The Lashkar Gah Training Centre in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Nov. 11, 2012. The British, as I imagine most of the Commonwealth countries, take Remembrance Day and their roles in World War 1 very seriously. That's reflected in the little things like the poppies they put on their uniforms a few days before. And the bigger things like this ceremony. To be in Helmand, let alone Afghanistan, a place the British had fought three wars in, for the ceremony made it more special and memorable.

I'm glad I saw this ceremony at The LTC. It was a small camp and was what I always considered typically British whilst on ops. Rough but a bit refined. Austere but not quite completely spartan. All the time I spent there (and it was a lot) sort of solidified that thought. 

It was a unique place. I'm glad I was able to document this ceremony there.