Remembrance Day vs. Veteran's Day

I'm not trying to be un-Patriotic... I'm grateful for our American war veterans... but I am a big fan of celebrating Remembrance Day European style.  Here's a little piece of my journal entry from last year on my study abroad in London:

"Today was a great day to be in London.  Ben, Andrew and I went to the memorial service at the cenotaph on Whitehall that the royal family attends.  There was a parade of veterans and the queen laid a wreath of poppies.  I didn't see her (too short) but I did see Prince Harry :) I loved the 2 minutes moment of silence.  It was so crazy to be in such a busy part of one of the most bustling parts of the world and to have it go so quiet that you can't even hear cars-- just birds chirping.  I also loved saying the Lord's Prayer in unison w/thousands of people and also hearing the Brit's sing "God Save the Queen" with her in attendance."

This entry is nothing eloquent or wordy... it's pretty simple actually.  I know that unless you were there or have been there to experience something like a 2 min moment of silence this probably doesn't mean much to you.  I have never experienced anything quite like the way the British honor their traditions and especially their war heroes.  After visiting a number of memorials, graves, and taking a class on the Great War I barely got to scratch the surface of how deep national pride runs in that beautiful country.  I miss it every day and while I celebrate our veterans in America this year I will also be wearing my poppy and reading Wilfred Owens poems. 

God Save the Queen. 

Cenotaph on Whitehall