Veterans Day

 

 Have an honored Veterans Day

 

 

 Pictures taken at the grounds of Echovets, 

 

For Veterans By Veterans, A group here from RL, to serve our U.S. Veterans, and their family members.  Camaraderie & information about ANYTHING Veteran, Stacy Maracas

"Reach out anytime. We are here for you and to give a hand up, not out."

 

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EchoGroup%20BandofBrothers/139/137/24

Memorial Day

 

 Today is Memorial Day, in which America takes a moment to remember its fallen veterans. For those who fell during the Vietnam War, a conflict that claimed over 58,000 American servicemen and women.

 

 

A replica of the memorial in Washington DC, the names of the fallen are etched on granite, the sheer number a sobering reminder of the huge number of casualties.

 

Vietnam wasn't our last war, America getting into wars about every generation, the years since seeing the Gulf War, the Afghan War, and the Iraq War. America always needs its veterans. And sadly some never come home alive.

 

We shall remember

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Veterans%20Isle/177/185/2485

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Annoucement: 18th Annual Second LIfe Veterans Tribute Now Open

 THE 18TH ANNUAL SLVT IS NOW OPEN FOR 2024

THIS YEAR THE SL VETERAN'S TRIBUTE IS FEATURED IN THE DESTINATIONS GUIDE UNDER EDITOR'S CHOICE.
PLEASE BE SURE TO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR EVENTS FROM TIME TO TIME THROUGH OUT THE TWO WEEKS IT IS OPEN.

WE WILL BE SENDING OUT NOTICES.
REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
TRIBUTE STAFF 🙂

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stillwater%20Cove/41/6/29

 

Smoke Texan, Part Owner of 9/11 Memorial, Has Died

 

 It was announced in the Echovets group in Second Life that Smoke Texan had recently passed away.

 

We lost a brother.... Many of you know that Smoke Texan passed away last week on May 2nd. Smoke served in the U.S. Marine Corps with honor. He was also a 9/11 rescue worker. His longtime partner Foxxy (Checkers.firelight) has started working on a memorial service in memory of, and in honor of his life.

Smoke Texan was among the people who was helping to keep the Stagg Island 9/11 Memorial up after it's owner passed away. He also made a 9/11 memorial track in 2019. In group chatter, it was also mentioned he was a DJ at some clubs. Echovets leader Stacy Lee (Stacy Maracas) would say, "He and Foxxy were apart of us when we first started.  He was a good dude, and a good brother.  They will be keeping his 9/11 honor sim up and running in his memory." 

There will be a memorial service for him soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Russian Veteran Newcomer, Update on Hanna

 

 

 The Russia-Ukraine War remains in the daily news, the recent headlines being drone attacks on the capital city of Kiev (Kyiv). In Second Life, while the initial massive show of support has somewhat ebbed, some people still fly Ukrainian flags or have blue and gold displays up as a show of support. Last weekend, I'd gotten another reminder when someone in a veterans community, Soldier Waverider, announced in group chat he'd come across a Russian solider who'd just joined up with Second Life, and invited people to talk to him. As I was trying to calm down a friend who had a stressful day, I sent my alt Rezzdarnnit over. 

The soldier, whose name will not be mentioned in the Newser, had escaped Russia with his immediate family, and was now in Sweden. He had left partly out of not wanting to be part of the invasion again, and partially that he was about to be sent back despite post-traumatic stress disorder. He disagreed with Putin, and found no fault at all with the Ukrainians. 

Most of our conversation was in voice, and the man in question spoke in English with a strong accent. When he had first arrived, most greeted him with suspicion, some wondering if he was a troll. But then he ran into Waverider, and after some conversation the American veteran was convinced his story was genuine.

 

There's also an update on an Ukrainian resident of Second Life. Hanna Linberg (gabby11196), the owner of Osmia, was last reported hiding out in a city under Russian occupation, her situation complicated by pregnancy. Late last week, Hamlet Au would report that she escaped with her family and went to a free part of the country where she would give birth to her baby. While the war is still far from won, this one story has a happy update.

 

Addition: Third paragraph was added several hours after this story first went up. Sorry for those details being late.

Source: New World Notes.

Bixyl Shuftan

Waya Snowpaw, Veterans Isle DJ, Has Died

 

There was a sad announcement from Legacy Vets a couple days ago. US Army veteran Waya Snowpaw had passed away.

 

It is my unfortunate duty to inform our members the loss of a fellow vet and brother. Waya Snowpaw United States  Army Veteran has passed away and went on to a Higher Command. He left us on 27 September 2022 Services will be held and a notice will be sent out to where and when.

Waya was a longtime presence at Veterans Isle events, and at it's predecessor Patriot Island. He was the DJ opening up for Frets Nirvana's fundraisers, at first for Wounded Warriors, then Homes For Our Troops. Month after month, year after year, he took part in hundreds of fundraising concerts. Besides as the DJ among live performers, he stuck out in his furry avatar when most of the others were human. 

The services will be held at Veterans Isle on Saturday October 23.The event will be at the USMV Chapel at 3PM SL time. This will be followed by a reception behind the church. Dress code is formal, and it is requested people keep down on scripted items, "we want everyone to attend and not get lagged out."

Rest in peace,

Bixyl Shuftan

 

*Updated 3:30PM* 

A Marine's Story (2011)

 

Memorial Day has many stories. One would first be told one Veterans Day in 2011. At the Second Life Veterans Tribute, Laken Titanium, a US Marine in real-life, was introduced to me. He had a story to tell, not of himself, but rather of a number of his platoon whom sadly never made it home. 

Read the story from 2011 in People.
 

Veterans Day at Club Cutlass

 

 

On Veterans Day, Wednesday November 11, the Sunweaver community's main club, Club Cutlass, held a themed event from 6 PM to just after 8PM. The idea was dressing up as a soldier or sailor. DJ Cynthia played the music of the event, which was music of various conflicts in American history. There were a few tributes made later, such as "The Battle of New Orleans" which was made a century and a half later. But most songs were made at the time period of the conflict, though in the case of the older ones they were sung by singers of today.

 Near the end of the show, four of the Sunweaver communty's veterans, Zorro Wuramunga, Shockwave Yareach, Cynthia Farshore, and Rita Mariner, did a salute. A fifth, ReCoyote Mindes, had gone away from keyboard due to something in real-life.

There would be many other Veterans Day events across the Grid, such as the Veterans Tribute.

It should be noted the Sunweaver/Angels community has a number of other veterans, such as Jasmine Dawn. Others also have veterans in their family. Thank you all for your service. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Veteran's Tribute Returns

 

Veterans Day, known as Remembrance Day in Europe, will be coming soon. And the Second Life Veteran's Tribute is back in the virtual world.

Welcome to the 14th Annual SL Veteran’s Tribute for 2020.  This is the 14th annual Veteran’s Tribute that we have put together.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The Tribute opened on Halloween, and is scheduled to remain open until November 17. As before, there are a number of exhibits around, such as Battleship Beach and the Canadian Memorial. The largest of these is the Memorial Wall, which is made up of bricks representing a soldier whom served (or occasionally a group) either from a recent conflict or one from the past. A few, such as Lothi Aeon, have been residents of Second Life. 

There is a stage, and so far there have been events most days the Tribute has been open. But there doesn't seem to be a set schedule, so to keep track of when musicians play and other announcements, one can join the SL Veteran’s Tribute group. At the stage was a sign for the Fearless Nation PTSD support group. People have also been invited to contribute to the Tribute's Flickr page, "Share your pictures with us we want to see it through your eyes!"

The Veterans Tribute is located at WideWorld Vezuvio (121/127/22).

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Day

Have an honored Veterans Day from the Second Life Newser

Taken at Veterans Isle's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Veterans Day at Club Cutlass

Saturday November 11 was Veterans Day, and that night, there was a special Veterans Day event at Club Cutlass. Cynthia Farshore played a list of military-themed or inspired tunes from the American Revolution to the first recorded songs of the Spanish-American War and WW1, to the classic military songs of WW2 to the protest songs of Vietnam to the music composed in the wake of 9/11 and the War on Terror.

At the end of the party, the four Sunweavers present at the part whom had served as veterans stood at attention: Rita Mariner, Cynthis Farshore, Shockwave Yareach, and Zorro Wuramunga (RECoyote Mindes, whom was also in the military, left the party early).

Thank you for your service.

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Tribute 2017

Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day as it's known in some countries, is in a couple days on Saturday November 11. And as it has every year for the past 11 years, the Veterans Tribute has appeared in Second Life. The place is mainly a memorial wall in which each of the stones have a name or names of many veterans, American, Canadian, and others, of wars current and in the past. While a few of the names are among the living, most on the wall either died in action or passed away in peacetime. The center of the tribute is a memorial flame surrounded by a ring of flowers, a ring of water, and the five flags of the five branches of the US military.

The Second Life Veterans Tribute Group is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers (both civilians and ex-military) who have come together to build a Veteran’s Tribute in Second Life. The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

Visitors can request a new stone be carved in honor of someone by putting the name and some information on a notecard, and putting it in one of the mailboxes  There are also roses and flags near the start that people can get and place inside the memorial. There are also planes up for display, and a small POW memorial.

The Newser has reported on the Tribute for the past several years, including that of onetime Second Life resident Lothi Aeon/Jacob D. Borton, and when one Marine told the story of his fallen comrades.

The Tribute will be up until November 13th.

Silent Reverie (162/186/36)

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Veterans Tribute

Real life news has been dominated by the results of the US Presidential Election, and reactions to it. But other events go on. Among them the Sixth Annual Second Life Veterans Tribute. Made up of a memorial wall to honor American and other veterans of wars current and past, the Tribute has appeared in some form every year since 2010, built and set up by the Second Life Veteran's Tribute Group.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.
The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The center and main feature is the memorial wall. Each brick represents a veteran, or sometimes a group of veterans. While a few are still living, most have passed on or were killed in action. Among them is Lohti Aeon/Jacob Burton, whom had a friend in the Sunweaver Estates, and one group of Iraq war veterans whose story was told by a comrade who survived what they were unable to. In the middle is small garden with flags of the US armed forces around it. But US veterans are not the only ones honored, as is evidenced by a small memorial to fallen Canadian soldiers.

While there, I ran into AdamRamsey, whom had been on the team earlier but took a break,  "I remember when that thing first came out. ... Wow, it has grown. This is amazing. I can't believe I took a few years off." He told me he was going to get together with Wildrose Pevensey, one of the team.

The tribute is located at Crossing Sands III (16/124/30).

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Day/Remembrance Day

To those who served to defend Democracy, thank you from Second Life Newser.

Veterans Tribute in Second Life

It's Veterans Day, and what's become a yearly tradition has returned to the Grid, the Second Life Veterans Tribute. Made up of a memorial wall to honor American and other veterans of wars current and over history, the Tribute has appeared in some form every year for several years, built and set up by the Second Life Veteran's Tribute Group.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The main feature of the Veteran's Tribute is the memorial wall. Each brick represents a veteran or group of veterans. Visitors can request a new brick be built in honor of someone by putting the name and some information on a notecard, and putting it in one of the mailboxes there. There are hundreds of named bricks, and some room for more. The wall is set up around a central fountain with the US Armed Forces flags flying overhead. The main entrance is at a landing craft, leading to one section of wall decorated with a number of nations' flags. One can also place flowers, flags, or yellow ribbons at the wall.

Besides the memorial wall, there are smaller memorials around, such as the Canadian Veterans in Afghanistan memorial, the Fort Hood plaque, and the POW empty chair tribute.

The Tribute has been the scene of events in the past. This year, there will be several musicians, live and DJs, performing there.

4PM: Strum Diesel

5PM: DJ MaxPower Gordic

6PM: Lee Winegarden

7PM: DJ Bannock Ogg

8PM: Tristyn Homewood

9PM: Gibson

The Newser has covered the Tribute each year since 2010.  There have been a number of stories about it from Lohti Aeon/Jacob Burton, to one Marine whom made sure his fallen comrades would be honored, and more.

The Tribute this year is at Thundering Falls (248/12/22)

Bixyl Shuftan

The Western Front (2009)

Originally published in Second Life Newspaper in November 2009

*  *  *  *  *

By Grey Lupindo

To honor Veterańs Day, I visited the First World War Poetry Digital Archives at the Western Front exhibit. (219, 199, 646).

This site focuses on the First World War and how it was experienced by the British poets, soldiers, and nurses who served in it. The site has archived poetry, letters, interviews and photographs into an interactive exhibit.

At the point of arrival, the site requests that you change into one of its free uniforms, either a soldier or nurse, before you proceed into the encampment. I chose a nursés uniform for my tour. To enhance your viewing, it also gives directions on changing your sky to evoke the mood that existed near the front lines. This is easy to do and adds a lot to the experience.

The exhibit starts with a typical encampment of tents. As you walk through the sim, the sounds of marching soldiers and bugles can be heard. (Walk slowly because it takes time for the soldiers to rez.) When they do, you will hear interviews with the men who lived through that War.

The topics include typical war information on weapons and training, but also less common information on day-to-day life in the camps.

In addition to the figures that rez, there are blue and red boxes scattered around the site. The red boxes are archived interviews, images and videos of the veterans. The blue boxes are readings of the poetry by Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon, and others, accompanied by images of the poets and their manuscripts. There is a teleport to the hospital tents, trenches, and front lines. Near the rear of the site there is a transport that will give you an aerial view of the trench system, but I couldń't get this to work. However, I teleported easily to the hospital tents and trenches. 

The interviews at the hospital were an interesting and sober reminder of the horros of  that war.  From here you can walk through the trenches to the front lines. Allow yourself time to go slowly through the trenches because many of the items are not initially visible.

Grey Lupindo 

*  *  *  *  *

Over five years later, the Western Front exhibit is still up at Frideswide (219, 199, 646). Grey Lupindo would be among the reporters founding Second Life Newser.

World of Warcraft News: Ten Year Statue Gift and "Veteran" Accounts

There's been a couple recent news stories about World of Warcraft recently. One was a slight change to how currently inactive accounts are handled. While there has been a kind of Free-to-Play version of the game for a while, such players operate under a number of restrictions, such as not being able to go beyond level 20. And once a player has ever had a paid subscription, they can't so much as log in.

In the upcoming patch of the game, expired subscriptions will be changed to a "Veteran Edition" in which characters up to Level 20 can still be logged in. Such characters will still be under some restrictions, but will be able to join guilds. Characters beyond Level 20 will not be accessible under Veteran. Just how useful this small change is has been a matter of opinion among those responding to the post in the forums. But considering ten million people at last count had paid accounts, it's unlikely that the game will be nudging much closer to free to play.

What's gotten more attention is the present that Blizzard entertainment is giving it's most devoted customers. On January 21, Blizzard announced "As a way to thank our most loyal World of Warcraft players, we are sending a physical gift to players that have stuck with us since the very beginning." These players would have to have had started playing within 60 days of when they game was released in 2004, and kept up their subscriptions without interruption.

That the announcement had the keyword "statue" was a clue as to what it was, and as it turns out, it's a small bronze statue of an orc riding a wolf. It's gotten no shortage of comments. Some have commented considering the cash such players have sent Blizzard over time, $15 a month for 120 months is about $1800, Blizzard clearly got the far better of the bargain. Supporters counter that Blizzard didn't have to send anything, and it's better than a simple "thank you" card. It's also notable that a number of these statues have popped up on eBay, sometimes with prices in the hundreds of dollars or even over a thousand, one being offered for 2,500.

On another note, the Newser will not be doing a review of "Warlords of Draenor," at least not anytime soon.

Sources: Cnet, PC Gammer,

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Veterans Tribute

Second Life Newser was notified by one of the staff of the Second Life Veterans Tribute that they were building their yearly exhibition and event on Veterans Day. This year, it will be in the Kajam sim.

"The SLVT tribute was up and running agian this year," Wildroses Pevensey told the Newser, "(We) still have a few more memorials coming in, one from Canada, one from the Falkland Islands, and another Canadian .. but it is up mostly."

"Things like this are so important ... a connection to our past and present and remembering where we came from and what we do ... a place to reflect."

Wildroses expressed her apologies for appearing less than organized, "I always get so wishy washy. I just want people to come see the names, and the men and women that serve, and have served. That is my main goal for everyone to realize how lucky we are, to live as we do, and all that good stuff." She smiled, "We take for granted things others would die for, and have died for."

The Veterans Tribute is located at Kajam (218/37/35). The most prominent feature is the memorial wall, of which one can have the name of a veteran added by following the instructions there.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Veterans Tribute Memorial Wall

By Bixyl Shuftan

During this Veterans Day weekend, there was a special exhibit set up in the Southfield sim: the Veterans Tribute memorial wall.

 On Veterans Day, I gave the place a visit. The landmark I was given took me to a small replica of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was facing the memorial wall in front of me.  The total amount of ground made up a quarter sim. It was made up of a fountain with four sections of wall to the northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest. Each of the sections was made up of bricks, each with the name of a veteran given by a resident. The bricks have the soldier's name, plus rank and branch of service plus either a date or what conflict the soldier took part in. There were a couple bricks for veterans of the Revolutionary War and Civil War, though most were for World War Two and more recent conflicts such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. One brick was for the late Second Life resident Lothi Aeon, whom in real life was Army Specialist Jacob D. Borton.

Most of the names are American, but the wall is open to all and some were in honor of veterans from other nations. The flags of a number of democracies fly over the memorial. Around the wall are a number of smaller memorials such as one for Canadian servicemen whom did not survive their time in Afghanistan. Over the central fountain itself flew flags of the US Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, with a flame burning in the center, with a statue of a rifle stuck into an unoccupied pair of boots with a helmet on top, a symbol of a soldier fallen in battle, with the following chiseled in stone behind it:

Without you standing sentinel, and ever must you be,
Without you standing sentinel, not one would long live free.

There are also a few combat vehicles set up, plus a few aircraft in the air. Trees and rock separated the exhibition from the rest of the sim. Bordering the sim edge was a strip of poppies. 

While there, one of the Tribute staff was there, Wildroses Pevensey. She greeted visitors, whom included a number who were veterans in real life. She told me that the exhibit had been up for three days, and was due to be taken down the next day. In previous years, the Veterans Tribute was part of larger events, and part of a sim-wide display that was up for a week, "We've had to scale back."

The following day, the memorial was gone, in storage until Veterans Day next year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Day/Rememberance Day

To those who served to defend Democracy, thank you from Second Life Newser.