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The Polish military salute with two fingers The Queen had then decreed that the crew salute with the palm down, because by the work of the ships, it was more frequent that the sailors had their dirty hands and it was bad to salute like that (Photo: British Ministry of Defense). What is this about? There is an anecdote that could explain it: on one occasion Queen Victoria visited a warship and a sailor greeted her with his palm in front, his hand rather dirty. The origin of the different salutes in the British armed forcesĪs you will have noticed, in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth countries the two salutes are used: with the palm down in the case of the naval forces, and with the palm in front in the rest of the military branches. This military salute is used in France (where it is called “raquette”) and in many of its former colonies, as well as in the armies and air forces of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries (Photo: Australian Army). The procedure is the same as with the palm down, with the difference that in this case the palm of the hand is left facing the front and perpendicular to the ground. The other most usual military salute is with the palm in front. This salute is the one used in the armed forces of the USA, Russia, China, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Turkey and practically all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in all the countries of Central and South America, and also in the naval forces of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and others (Photo: Spanish Air Force). The salute with the palm down consists of raising the arm leaving it at right angles to the body, then stretching the forearm toward the right temple, with the hand extended and the palm of the hand facing the ground. Perhaps that explains a detail: as a general rule, in almost all armies, soldiers are exempt from military salutes if they do not wear any headgear.Ĭurrently, and with a few exceptions that I will point out below, in the world military salutes are divided into two main types: with the palm down and with the palm forward. Instead, the custom of grabbing the end of the hat was established as if one were to remove the hat, a gesture that would have given rise to the military salute we know today. In the eighteenth century the ordinances of the British Army suppressed the obligation to uncover the head to greet a superior.
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The drawback of this explanation is that if the military salute had a medieval origin, it would have been used to a greater or lesser extent for centuries, but the reality is that it is a rather recent salute, which extended into the Contemporary Age.Īnother explanation, more likely, points out that centuries ago there was a habit of saluting a superior by raising his hat.
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Some believe that the gesture of bringing the tip of the fingers to the temple evokes the movement that the knights made when raising the visor of their helmets before the combat, as a gesture of respect and greeting towards the enemy. A possible explanation has its origin in the Middle Ages, when the knights carried metal helmets that covered the face with a folding visor. The origin of the military salute is uncertain. Jānis Pīnups: a Latvian soldier for whom the Second World War finished in 1995
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Beyond being a mere ceremonial gesture, today it constitutes a symbol of respect and unity.Īpel Pamięci: the ceremony of the Polish Army to honor its fallen for the Homeland The military salute is one of the most common elements of the military trade throughout the world.