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| Mandarinka |
The adult male Mandarin duck is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The adult female, on the background, is similar to female Wood duck.
In traditional Chinese culture, Mandarin Ducks represent a life-time couple and are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity. The species was once widespread in eastern Asia, but nowadays the population has reduced in Eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country.
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| Victory weapon (left and centre) & the Hare (right) |
Military stamps commemorating the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, " Victory weapon" (Оружие победы): the BT-7M tank (left) issued in 2010 and the GAZ-67B 4x4 (right) from 2012.
The Hare stamp from Russian Fairy Tales series on the far right.
Postcard from: Moscow, Russia.
Received: May 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: two Victory Weapon vehicles (BT-7M & GA3-67B) and one 0.10R The Hare.
Thank you very much, Maria!
{RU-948378}
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| Pearl Harbor |
I am not a patriotic fan and moreover, as a pacifist, I am not a military fan. But then, there is a time for everything and I understand the need and reason for making a memorial of such a dreadful place -- same goes for opening Auschwitz concentration camp to visitors. For me, this postcard is only another touristic spot, probably one that I wouldn't plan to visit if I had other places to go as a national park or a museum. To the sender, it means a lot. As a military person who had experienced September 11th, she can perfectly imagine how people felt in 1941. I love that she sent something so meaningful for her, even if for me it is just a piece of a foreign country's history (Spain was neutral during WWI and WWII and we don't even have a memorial day).
This is what you can read on the back of the card:
The
Memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship USS
Arizona and commemorates the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962, and became a National Park Service area in 1980. The USS
Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of trhee main sections: the entry and assembly rooms, a entral area designed for ceremonies and general observation, and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the
Arizona are engraved on the marble wall.
A few days after I received this, I watched
From Here to Eternity on TV. Wasn't that a funny coincidence?
It came with the standard stamp for international shipping, the
Amish carriage one. For once I wasn't so pleased to see it (but only a little, I really love it). Wouldn't a flag stamp had been a perfect match for this card?
Postcard from: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English (obvious).
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one $1.05 Lancaster county with Amish carriage.
Thanks, Debbie!
{US-1618806}
