Memorial Day... universal combat veteran and KIA graphics

[Gjest]

Hey All

I made graphics of a Yorkshire and Lancastrian Rose, and two with
crosses superimposed to use for my ancestors who died on both sides of
the Rose Battles.

This made me want to have a graphic for other ancestors who gave all
for a cause they believed in. I was searching for a universal symbol
that would transcend religion, borders and politics. I wanted
something for the individual, and his descendents.

I know that crossed swords are used to designate a battle site. I
found a reference that they may be used in the UK after an individual's
name to designate a combat veteran. I was searching for a universal
"killed in battle" or KIA logo, icon or graphic and was visiting the
sites of many veteran cemeteries. There were plenty of photo op shots
of heads of state visiting the cemeteries. It dawned on me that the
universally accepted thing for the heads of state to do was to honor
the soldiers by placing a wreath.

I decided to try a crossed sword graphic for combat veteran, and
crossed swords with an entwined wreath for those that died in battle.
I added a ribbon with the battle's name and I think that I have a
fitting graphic to honor veterans and those who died in battle. The
graphics work for all the battles ever recorded regardless of
religions, nationalities and causes.

[I can't figure out how to do hyperlinks here... so you'll have to
copy and paste.]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/637/ba ... irk1hp.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

Right now I have optimized the size for use with PAF5. I also have a
larger version of some.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8894 ... iew7qv.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1395 ... ook2pg.jpg

I could use some feedback before I get too many done... probably about
80 right now. They go fast since I have the blanks finished... I get
side tracked researching the battle.

If you have PAF5 and are interested and have some time to look at them
let me know. I you have another program, let me know what you need in
the way of format and size. I will find someway of making them
available, depending on the response I get.

Thanks for your time and attention
-Jim Hair

[singhals]

[email protected] wrote:

Hey All

I made graphics of a Yorkshire and Lancastrian Rose, and two with
crosses superimposed to use for my ancestors who died on both sides of
the Rose Battles.

This made me want to have a graphic for other ancestors who gave all
for a cause they believed in. I was searching for a universal symbol
that would transcend religion, borders and politics. I wanted
something for the individual, and his descendents.

I know that crossed swords are used to designate a battle site. I
found a reference that they may be used in the UK after an individual's
name to designate a combat veteran. I was searching for a universal
"killed in battle" or KIA logo, icon or graphic and was visiting the
sites of many veteran cemeteries. There were plenty of photo op shots
of heads of state visiting the cemeteries. It dawned on me that the
universally accepted thing for the heads of state to do was to honor
the soldiers by placing a wreath.

I decided to try a crossed sword graphic for combat veteran, and
crossed swords with an entwined wreath for those that died in battle.
I added a ribbon with the battle's name and I think that I have a
fitting graphic to honor veterans and those who died in battle. The
graphics work for all the battles ever recorded regardless of
religions, nationalities and causes.

[I can't figure out how to do hyperlinks here... so you'll have to
copy and paste.]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/637/ba ... irk1hp.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

Right now I have optimized the size for use with PAF5. I also have a
larger version of some.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8894 ... iew7qv.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1395 ... ook2pg.jpg

I could use some feedback before I get too many done... probably about
80 right now. They go fast since I have the blanks finished... I get
side tracked researching the battle.

If you have PAF5 and are interested and have some time to look at them
let me know. I you have another program, let me know what you need in
the way of format and size. I will find someway of making them
available, depending on the response I get.

Thanks for your time and attention
-Jim Hair

I use PAF5 and I looked. You might get a more focussed response on
s.g.britain because most of the battles appear to have to do with
British history and some of 'em well before most Americans can tap into it.

There are two other issues I see:

Most importantly, there's no place in PAF to put the explanation of why
some swords are wreathed and others aren't. That makes using that isn't
universally recognized a little tricky. I know that PAF5 indulges in
such things as unrecognizable icons, but that doesn't make it either
right or reasonable. [The iconography of how many feet a statue of a
rider's horse has off the ground has been around centuries and STILL has
to be explained regularly.]

Then, there's the issue of size. In any PAF file with more than a
couple hundred people in, adding graphics that display by default slows
down navigation often to the speed of cold molasses. I tried adding
tiny tiny flags to some of my military people, just to show that they
were "registered" ancestors with certain heritage groups. The increased
access time wasn't offset by the visual value of the fact.

YMMV

Cheryl

[Dogfish]

Hey Cheryl

Thanks for taking a look.

I think it would be relatively easy for someone to get the meaning of
wreathed vs un-wreathed in a short time. The swords only graphics I
have named "Veteran of (battle)" and if one right clicks on the small
icon and selects photo the image is displayed with the name as a
caption almost. Similar to the wreathed swords displayed here:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8894 ... iew7qv.jpg
In the case of the wreathed swords when I started naming them I
couldn't decide on "died at", "killed in", "mortally wounded at" etc.
I knew I could always change all the file names in a few minutes in DOS
so I left it for later. It's a matter of personal choice as far as
what you would like to have them named.

I'm not quite sure of your "slow down" point. The only place any of my
graphics show by default is the little icon sized image in Family view,
and then only one per page. Maybe it's the way I have set things up,
although I don't remember any specifics about it. I have thousands of
graphics attached now and I don't see any hindrance.

I don't know if there are graphic issues with other packages... at this
point I probably have them all but haven't put much time into them.
When I saw that none use MSWord for notes, or RTF or HTML, or even HTML
links I went back to PAF for its simplicity. I know I can convert
later if I need bangs and whistles. I'm really only using PAF for
research and collection anyway. If I wanted to share I would convert
to HTML and the graphics will be a plus.

I did a custom report on "*battle*" in the Death Place field and
started working my way down the list... I guess there just happens to
be an abundance of English war casualties at least in the beginning. I
have American Revolution and Civil Wars to get to as well as the World
Wars. I recently did one for Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South
Vietnam.

I had received positive responses from an international WW2 group that
I frequent... consensus was that they were appropriate, and didn't
offend, and didn't conflict with other icons. I had wanted their
opinions first before offering them to anyone.

I know that there are genealogists that feel that graphics have no
place in genealogy...
but it will be difficult enough to capture the attention of future
generations without video, or holograms or whatever is to be around the
corner.

I'm not a purist... in fact I'm as much an amateur historian as amateur
genealogist. I find the two inseparable for me and tend to be shunned
from both purist camps.

I'm not "selling" the graphics or anything. It was something that I
had wanted and thought there could be others. It takes me only about a
minute to add a name to a "blank" graphic at this point so I'll try to
make as many as I can after I finish all the ones that I need for my
database.

Aside from all the other issues... what did you think of the
graphics..? I tried to keep them simple and thought the old wood-cut
look was appropriate.

Take care
-Jim

[John Carruthers]

I would like to use your graphics in my data base. I have saved your sample
images to my computer. How do I change the name of the battle in the wreath
to show the particular battle that my ancestor was in?

John Carruthers
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

Hey All

I made graphics of a Yorkshire and Lancastrian Rose, and two with
crosses superimposed to use for my ancestors who died on both sides of
the Rose Battles.

This made me want to have a graphic for other ancestors who gave all
for a cause they believed in. I was searching for a universal symbol
that would transcend religion, borders and politics. I wanted
something for the individual, and his descendents.

I know that crossed swords are used to designate a battle site. I
found a reference that they may be used in the UK after an individual's
name to designate a combat veteran. I was searching for a universal
"killed in battle" or KIA logo, icon or graphic and was visiting the
sites of many veteran cemeteries. There were plenty of photo op shots
of heads of state visiting the cemeteries. It dawned on me that the
universally accepted thing for the heads of state to do was to honor
the soldiers by placing a wreath.

I decided to try a crossed sword graphic for combat veteran, and
crossed swords with an entwined wreath for those that died in battle.
I added a ribbon with the battle's name and I think that I have a
fitting graphic to honor veterans and those who died in battle. The
graphics work for all the battles ever recorded regardless of
religions, nationalities and causes.

[I can't figure out how to do hyperlinks here... so you'll have to
copy and paste.]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/637/ba ... irk1hp.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2750/scross7sg.jpg

Right now I have optimized the size for use with PAF5. I also have a
larger version of some.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8894 ... iew7qv.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1395 ... ook2pg.jpg

I could use some feedback before I get too many done... probably about
80 right now. They go fast since I have the blanks finished... I get
side tracked researching the battle.

If you have PAF5 and are interested and have some time to look at them
let me know. I you have another program, let me know what you need in
the way of format and size. I will find someway of making them
available, depending on the response I get.

Thanks for your time and attention
-Jim Hair

[Dogfish]

Hey John

Why don't you email me, and we can discuss this off group. I can send
you all that I have done if you like, or at least the blanks that
you'll need. Then depending on what graphics tools you have and the
requirements of your genealogy software I could outline the steps for
making them. Or you could email me a list of what you need and I can do
them... getting pretty quick at it now...

-Jim (carkatmsndotcom)

[singhals]

Dogfish wrote:

Hey Cheryl

Thanks for taking a look.

I think it would be relatively easy for someone to get the meaning of
wreathed vs un-wreathed in a short time. The swords only graphics I
have named "Veteran of (battle)" and if one right clicks on the small
icon and selects photo the image is displayed with the name as a
caption almost. Similar to the wreathed swords displayed here:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8894 ... iew7qv.jpg
In the case of the wreathed swords when I started naming them I
couldn't decide on "died at", "killed in", "mortally wounded at" etc.
I knew I could always change all the file names in a few minutes in DOS
so I left it for later. It's a matter of personal choice as far as
what you would like to have them named.

I'm not quite sure of your "slow down" point. The only place any of my
graphics show by default is the little icon sized image in Family view,
and then only one per page. Maybe it's the way I have set things up,
although I don't remember any specifics about it. I have thousands of
graphics attached now and I don't see any hindrance.

I don't know if there are graphic issues with other packages... at this
point I probably have them all but haven't put much time into them.
When I saw that none use MSWord for notes, or RTF or HTML, or even HTML
links I went back to PAF for its simplicity. I know I can convert
later if I need bangs and whistles. I'm really only using PAF for
research and collection anyway. If I wanted to share I would convert
to HTML and the graphics will be a plus.

I did a custom report on "*battle*" in the Death Place field and
started working my way down the list... I guess there just happens to
be an abundance of English war casualties at least in the beginning. I
have American Revolution and Civil Wars to get to as well as the World
Wars. I recently did one for Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South
Vietnam.

I had received positive responses from an international WW2 group that
I frequent... consensus was that they were appropriate, and didn't
offend, and didn't conflict with other icons. I had wanted their
opinions first before offering them to anyone.

I know that there are genealogists that feel that graphics have no
place in genealogy...
but it will be difficult enough to capture the attention of future
generations without video, or holograms or whatever is to be around the
corner.

I'm not a purist... in fact I'm as much an amateur historian as amateur
genealogist. I find the two inseparable for me and tend to be shunned
from both purist camps.

I'm not "selling" the graphics or anything. It was something that I
had wanted and thought there could be others. It takes me only about a
minute to add a name to a "blank" graphic at this point so I'll try to
make as many as I can after I finish all the ones that I need for my
database.

Aside from all the other issues... what did you think of the
graphics..? I tried to keep them simple and thought the old wood-cut
look was appropriate.

Take care
-Jim

My slow-down point varies from database to database. In the 30,000 name
one, it's too slow if I can walk into the other room, get ice, pour me a
glass of ice-tea (which you get by soaking ice in tea), and return
before the next screen appears. In the 200-name one, it's too slow if I
have to blink before the next screen appears. Obviously, on a machine
with maxed-out RAM and the fastest chip on the market, slow-down is
longer coming than with an off-the-shelf, mid-range box.

The graphics are clean and might add interest for some. I'm not against
graphics or photos in genealogy, I just don't want them getting in my
way while I'm doing housekeeping on the database.

OTOH: I've got an ancestor who died of wounds received at Gordonsville;
So, I put "Gordonsville" in the deathplace field. It's kinda irrelevant
that he actually died at Orange C.H., where he is allegedly buried,
because there's no death record to find and 60 years ago no one could
find his grave. Putting up a graphic about it isn't important to anyone
in my family. Finding that grave (again) would be.

Cheryl

[Dogfish]

Hey Cheryl

I think that there is a problem somewhere if you are experiencing lag
to that extent.

You were only displaying a little icon sized graphic in Family view...
correct? I haven't seen any way to display any more "default" graphics
than that. But it shouldn't matter all that much if you display one
large full screen graphic or 4 quarter screen graphics... (a little
difference in HD access). The flags that you described shouldn't be
any issue.

The Google Groups logo on this page is larger than the graphic that
appears in family view. If you can navigate around web pages, where
you have the impediment of your internet connection, and load graphics
with reasonable speed then it has little or nothing to do with your CPU
and memory. The loading of a graphic from the net is substantially
slower to begin with than loading one from your hard drive.

From what you describe, an animation or video would appear as single
frames.

If you have a desire to use graphics you may want to contact PAF
support. I recently contacted them to find out if there was a way to
add a new line (CRLF) in notes with the Search & Replace feature...
(they claim there's not, but I'm still looking onto it). At first they
thought that I was making a suggestion for a new feature and they told
me that:

"At the current time, PAF is in a static state as we are working on a
product to replace it."

Maybe the new product will improve things for you, but in the meantime
I would hope that Support could help you.

What is Orange C.H., a hospital..?

I have ancestors that died of wounds also. One actually took a head
injury and died 2 years after the battle. I now list them as:
d. Date of death
d. Place of death, of wounds from battle of (battle name) & date
This allows for more search possibilities in the future.

I have over 600 individuals that had "battle" in the death place field.
I noticed while doing this that there I others that have simply
"killed at" "slain" and/or even only the battle name. Death place was
something that I never paid that much attention to before. If it was a
well known battle, such as Gettysburg, that may be the only entry.

Take care
-Jim








singhals wrote:

My slow-down point varies from database to database. In the 30,000 name
one, it's too slow if I can walk into the other room, get ice, pour me a
glass of ice-tea (which you get by soaking ice in tea), and return
before the next screen appears. In the 200-name one, it's too slow if I
have to blink before the next screen appears. Obviously, on a machine
with maxed-out RAM and the fastest chip on the market, slow-down is
longer coming than with an off-the-shelf, mid-range box.

The graphics are clean and might add interest for some. I'm not against
graphics or photos in genealogy, I just don't want them getting in my
way while I'm doing housekeeping on the database.

OTOH: I've got an ancestor who died of wounds received at Gordonsville;
So, I put "Gordonsville" in the deathplace field. It's kinda irrelevant
that he actually died at Orange C.H., where he is allegedly buried,
because there's no death record to find and 60 years ago no one could
find his grave. Putting up a graphic about it isn't important to anyone
in my family. Finding that grave (again) would be.

Cheryl