gnu: My grandfather (29th Battalion) was in the mud at Vimy Ridge and Paaschendaele and elsewhere. I hang a picture at home of his platoon, with "x"'s that he drew across the chests of those who died in Vimy Ridge (most of them.)

I personally don't get any twinges of patriotism out of it. What it does do to me all the time is impart a sense of amazement and humility at the toughness of the generations who preceded us, in all the participating countries.

(and, to throw in a bit of editorialization, right now it shames me when I think of smart bombs targeted at third world populations, enlisted or otherwise.)