Christmas Charity for a Veteran Tanker

Hello everyone,

now, this is not something I do every day, but this time, the cause is good, so… here goes.

Introduction

I think that all of us, who are playing World of Tanks and are interested in history do realize that the world of tanks (not the game, the real world) is not just about the steel monsters. It’s also (even mostly) about the men who rode them to battle. Real life veterans. There are World War 2 veterans still alive, men who actually fought on all those tanks we use in WoT today. The greatest war in history is ancient history for us, yet for them it was something they really experienced sometimes costing them their health, sometimes all their friends or family members.

Wargaming America actually donated to veteran organizations in the past, yet we have seen no such thing from Wargaming EU. The “official” argument is that there are too many nations and veteran organizations in Europe to donate. Instead, you might remember that silly anonymous “charity” for “war children” (and I think everyone can imagine how big charities operate, eating up 50 percent of the donations just to “cover their costs”.)

Well, several Czechoslovak community members (including me) decided to do something about it.

The people involved in this are Carramba66 (who came up with this and organized it), me, Akcido, Uanubis, CatfoodCZ (well known Czech streamers and videomakers) and Clearevil (yes, a moderator). Basically, what happened was, Carramba came to us all for support – he contacted the official Czechoslovak veteran organization Československá Obec Legionářská with this and they did agree to back it up. Please note that this charity is NOT supported or organized by Wargaming, it’s an individual venture.

How it works

It’s very simple: there is a transparent account (everyone can see movements on it) opened by Carramba66. Everything, that gets donated to the account, will go straight to that one veteran, handpicked by the ČSOL veteran organization (to who, that is entirely up to them). No “fees”, no money loss, no bullshit. Just a simple transfer. Details will be posted below. I will keep an eye on this and will make sure there are no complications in any part of the process – after all, I am giving my reputation here at stake too and so are the others. The legal aspect is covered by a binding legal contract between the veteran organization and Carramba66 personally. This contract will be made public.

We hope to raise enough money to make this man’s Christmas better, perhaps enough for a week at some health spa and to buy some medical accessories this man needs. For my part: ALL DONATIONS FOR FTR between now (today, 25.11.2013) and 17.12.2013 (23:59) will be transferred to the charity account. A list of donators will also be issued, so everything is transparent.

Carramba66 made a video (you can turn on the English subtitles)

So, by now you are probably asking:

Why should I donate to a Czech veteran, since I am a foreigner?

Well, the answer is simple. You don’t have to. There are thousands of veterans still alive in your own countries, who, especially in former Eastern Bloc, are living in poor conditions. Your own veterans need you. go, google your own veteran organizations and see how you can help your own people, how you can honor them for sacrificing sometimes everything they had apart from their lives for your country.

Details

(detailed info by Carramba66)

Donation drive for tankers, veterans of WW2. The entire sum donated will be given as a gift to one of the former tankers, picked for us by the official Czechoslovak Legionnaire Community. The money will be used to buy medical equipment, of for example for spa treatment.

Account number: 250 050 2604/2010 (Czech republic)
Account number: 250 050 2604/8330 (Slovak republic)

For international transfers:

IBAN: CZ0320100000002500502604
SWIFT: FIOBCZPP

Paypal: In order to donate via PayPal, go to ftr.wot-news.com and click the DONATE button in the upper right corner – and into the “special instructions” field add your World of Tanks nickname.

You can check the transparent account here:

https://www.fio.cz/scgi-bin/hermes/dz-transparent.cgi?ID_ucet=2500502604

Donation drive organized by [CZ]: carramba66, akcido, CatfoodCZ, ClearEvil, Uanubis, SilentStalker

On behalf of all war veterans – thank you.

Detailní info česky

od Carramba66

Sbírka pro tankisty, veterány z 2. světové války. Celý výtěžek bude předán jednomu z bývalých tankistů, kterého vybere Československá obec legionářská. Peníze budou použity na nákup zdravotnických pomůcek nebo např. na léčebný pobyt v lázních.

Číslo účtu: 250 050 2604/2010 (do zprávy pro příjemce napište svůj nick ve WoT)
Číslo účtu pro příspěvky ze Slovenska: 250 050 2604/8330 (do zprávy pro příjemce napište svůj nick ve WoT)

Paypal: Pro příspěvek přes PayPal jděte na ftr.wot-news.com, klikněte na tlačítko DONATE, pak zadejte částku a do kolonky “special instructions” přidejte svůj nick ve WoT.

Pohyby na transparentním účtu můžete kontrolovat zde: https://www.fio.cz/scgi-bin/hermes/dz-transparent.cgi?ID_ucet=2500502604
Sbírku organizují: carramba66, akcido, CatfoodCZ, ClearEvil, Uanubis, SilentStalker

Za všechny válečné veterány – děkujeme!

18 thoughts on “Christmas Charity for a Veteran Tanker”

This is a very good and noble thing to do :) It’s no wonder the official WG EU devs are lazy bastards when it comes to things like this. It’s good there are kind players like this still around :)

Very nice initiative!!! My grandfather himself was a veteran of the Brazilian Army, he served in Italy during 1944-45. Many of his colleagues ended living in poverty after the war, because almost all lower ranking soldiers got discharged after they arrived back to Brazil without any kind of help except for a small pension and some low budget apartments presented by the government. He was luckier to have stayed on army until 1970, and left the army with the ranking of Captain.

Herman_der_German on November 25, 2013 at 1:35 pm said:

Even though the Republic of Ireland was neutral in WWII many men and women saw that there was a war to fight against fascism and went to the UK to enlist and work in support of the war effort. When the soldiers returned to Republic of Ireland they suffered discrimination and prosecution for what was officially seen as fighting for the old enemy, Britain. It is only very recently that any recognition of the shameful treatment of these people has come to light and the Irish government have acknowledged the wrong that was done.

As an Irish person I find it alarming that this came about because there was some sympathy for fascism and anti-semitism in powerful circles in government and the Catholic Church in Ireland. Just a few years ago I witnessed a well-dressed and well-spoken middle class woman spouting anti-semitic garbage in a café making sure that everyone there could hear her. The thing is that she was not ranting but just declaring in a self important way what she was going to tell her TD (member of the Ireland Government).

Nice initiative Silentstalker, I hope that they will get what they deserve for fighting for not only their country, but for the Europe they wished.

Silent, is it possible to officially go against WG EU for Tuccy’s actions?

Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 12:54 pm said:

Doubt it. Plus, it’s probably according to one obscure rule or another. We have a saying “When you want to beat a dog, you will always find a stick”. Not worth it.
- EmperorSafirius on November 25, 2013 at 12:56 pm said:
  
  That is a nice saying :P And ye, I believe you. I actually hope WG RU will beat the EU office into the ground. For all there is, they are definetly doing better things than the EU office, even if they are insulting towards the EU players, but they at least arent such bastards towards their own RU players( i hope).
DarthWanderer on November 25, 2013 at 10:20 pm said:

what are you talking about?

Admirable initiative. It’s great to see the community reaffirm its presence in the real world.

Hey SS, thank you for posting this. This hits very close to home. I honestly cried a little bit, especially when the veteran tanker spoke receiving new tanks from the Soviets in Krosno – «the guy kissed the tank and told us “cherish it, these tanks were made by children.”»

This is my grandparent’s generation. My grandfather from my father’s side served in a T-34, my grandparents from my mother’s side worked in factories as children constructing these machines for the war.

Again, thank you for this and I am very proud to see this effort.

Pingback: 25.11.2013 | For The Record

Silent, I am also wondering if you can post more detailed videos of veterans like these speaking of their experiences during the war.

There has to be a longer video somewhere featuring these veterans in the video, yes?

Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 6:28 pm said:

Yes. It’s taken from a Czech TV documentary show. In Czech only, obviously…
- akspecs on November 25, 2013 at 7:15 pm said:
  
  I understand the Czech language fairly decently considering I know Polish and Russian. Do you mind linking me to it?

donated…

Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 9:11 pm said:

Got it, thank you :)

Pingback: Veteran Tanker Drive – who will the money go to? | For The Record

Pingback: Czech main news portal: interview about the Veteran charity | For The Record

EmperorSafirius on November 25, 2013 at 12:19 pm said:

This is a very good and noble thing to do :) It’s no wonder the official WG EU devs are lazy bastards when it comes to things like this. It’s good there are kind players like this still around :)
PzBarkhorn on November 25, 2013 at 12:44 pm said:

Very nice initiative!!! My grandfather himself was a veteran of the Brazilian Army, he served in Italy during 1944-45. Many of his colleagues ended living in poverty after the war, because almost all lower ranking soldiers got discharged after they arrived back to Brazil without any kind of help except for a small pension and some low budget apartments presented by the government. He was luckier to have stayed on army until 1970, and left the army with the ranking of Captain.
- Herman_der_German on November 25, 2013 at 1:35 pm said:
  
  Even though the Republic of Ireland was neutral in WWII many men and women saw that there was a war to fight against fascism and went to the UK to enlist and work in support of the war effort. When the soldiers returned to Republic of Ireland they suffered discrimination and prosecution for what was officially seen as fighting for the old enemy, Britain. It is only very recently that any recognition of the shameful treatment of these people has come to light and the Irish government have acknowledged the wrong that was done.
  
  As an Irish person I find it alarming that this came about because there was some sympathy for fascism and anti-semitism in powerful circles in government and the Catholic Church in Ireland. Just a few years ago I witnessed a well-dressed and well-spoken middle class woman spouting anti-semitic garbage in a café making sure that everyone there could hear her. The thing is that she was not ranting but just declaring in a self important way what she was going to tell her TD (member of the Ireland Government).
Warxofx23th on November 25, 2013 at 12:52 pm said:

Nice initiative Silentstalker, I hope that they will get what they deserve for fighting for not only their country, but for the Europe they wished.
EmperorSafirius on November 25, 2013 at 12:52 pm said:

Silent, is it possible to officially go against WG EU for Tuccy’s actions?
- Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 12:54 pm said:
  
  Doubt it. Plus, it’s probably according to one obscure rule or another. We have a saying “When you want to beat a dog, you will always find a stick”. Not worth it.
  - EmperorSafirius on November 25, 2013 at 12:56 pm said:
    
    That is a nice saying :P And ye, I believe you. I actually hope WG RU will beat the EU office into the ground. For all there is, they are definetly doing better things than the EU office, even if they are insulting towards the EU players, but they at least arent such bastards towards their own RU players( i hope).
- DarthWanderer on November 25, 2013 at 10:20 pm said:
  
  what are you talking about?
billguncrash on November 25, 2013 at 4:09 pm said:

Admirable initiative. It’s great to see the community reaffirm its presence in the real world.
akspecs on November 25, 2013 at 4:28 pm said:

Hey SS, thank you for posting this. This hits very close to home. I honestly cried a little bit, especially when the veteran tanker spoke receiving new tanks from the Soviets in Krosno – «the guy kissed the tank and told us “cherish it, these tanks were made by children.”»

This is my grandparent’s generation. My grandfather from my father’s side served in a T-34, my grandparents from my mother’s side worked in factories as children constructing these machines for the war.

Again, thank you for this and I am very proud to see this effort.
Pingback: 25.11.2013 | For The Record
akspecs on November 25, 2013 at 6:01 pm said:

Silent, I am also wondering if you can post more detailed videos of veterans like these speaking of their experiences during the war.

There has to be a longer video somewhere featuring these veterans in the video, yes?
- Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 6:28 pm said:
  
  Yes. It’s taken from a Czech TV documentary show. In Czech only, obviously…
  - akspecs on November 25, 2013 at 7:15 pm said:
    
    I understand the Czech language fairly decently considering I know Polish and Russian. Do you mind linking me to it?
Anton Turon on November 25, 2013 at 8:13 pm said:

donated…
- Silentstalker on November 25, 2013 at 9:11 pm said:
  
  Got it, thank you :)
Pingback: Veteran Tanker Drive – who will the money go to? | For The Record
Pingback: Czech main news portal: interview about the Veteran charity | For The Record