I'm not sure about other countries, but tommorow, on the 11th of november, it is Rememberance Day. It is a very important day where all Canadians take the time to remember all the men and wome who have given there lives for our freedom. As a sign of respect we all wear red poppies over our hearts. To learn about Rememberance day click here

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- John McCrae, 1915

We in the states call it Veterans Day, but it is the same concept. I wish it were recognized more here, instead it just closes school and the post office. Sad.

Good post Abe - they won't be forgotten........................

In England we sort of have 2 days... Remerberance Sunday, the Sunday before the 11th, and Armastice day which is the 11th itself. A minutes silence, at the 11th minute of the 11th hour, to remember and reflect about not only those we lost in the First and Second World Wars, but all those who have lost their lives or loved-ones through War.

May we never forget the horrors and the tragedies.

The public schools in this part of the United States at least don't close for Veterans' Day. In fact, I was unaware that tomorrow was Veterans' Day until someone mentioned they get off work tomorrow for "some holiday" at dinner this evening. It was soon deduced that tomorrow was Veterans' Day, or Armistice Day.

Don't weep for the lack of observance of this day. Consider it a symbol of freedom that most people go around carrying out their quotidien affairs instead of being bogged down in the rites of nationalistic religion.

I use the day to visit the grave of my Grandfather, a WWII veteran and personal hero. If you think it is a holiday for nationalist behaviour you are sorrowfully mistaken (IMHO). The fact that Americans simply choose to forget their lost relatives/friends is disturbing.

I'm certainly glad that you all belive in remembering what the world has lost to the horrors of war. In my area of Canada, the schools don't close (i'm not sure about the rest of the country), but there is always a Rememberance day ceremony at the schools. I watched the big ceremony in Ottawa this morning, and was truly moved. I don't have any relatives who are veterans, in fact I don't think i even know anyone who is, but i found it hard not to cry watching the ceremony. I just want to say that no enemy in war is truly evil, have respect for your fallen foe. They were just boys when they died to..........

Lest we forget.........

Schools and almost everything else are closed around here for the day. If you have not already found this Maple Leaf Legacy site you may want to have a look it's a project to photograph and catalog the graves of all Canadian war dead around the world it has links to several of the other commonwealth countries with similar projects as well.

Strange really,

I can recall when I was a kid, that it just seemed like a bunch of silly old buggers with their memories of war (and of course what I had either read or seen in "war films" on the TV).

But as someone who served in Bosnia, and has lost friends, in both combat and non combat roles, it now means something to me as well.

I saw a bit on TV the other day, where an "old soldier" went into a school and tried to explain "what it was like" - apart from the fact that [they] should have found someone who could have explained things a little better to the kid's, I thought he was brave to try and get across the terror's/horror's of war.

But I often think that it's a loosing battle, trying to explain these concepts to kids. maybe teenagers, because of their increased level of understanding, but if all you have is personal memories, then even then, that might not be enough.

Even pictures/photo's might not be enough. Every now and again, we hear of complaint's that something (well, like a TV programme) is "too graphic". I for one, disagree. I feel that if more of the worlds "younger people" could see the results of war, then they MIGHT, just give it a second thought.

For example, the holocaust exhibition in Israel, or maybe the monuments of "the killing fields" in Cambodia. Along with any photographic evidence, IN FULL COLOUR. And as someone who has had "military training", the training film's of what actually happens when someone gets hit by a bullet.

One of the things that is most difficult to get across, is the fear, felt by any kind of troops when they are "going into battle". Lets face it, compared to those who fought during the first world war, we are so much better educated, and have a greater understanding, that we are no longer "sheep".

I for one, would remove statues that you see "dotted around the country". With dead general's on horses - because they were often the ones responsible for the greatest number of deaths. I fail to see why I should give their statues and what they represented even a moments thought.

I prefer to consider those that they sent "over the top" to an almost certain death - those in charge, just did what they always did, sat back, ordering people around, and carried on the relatively comfortable life that they were used to. If the private soldier has to sit on the ground, in the mud, then why does a general think that he should have a comfortable chair?

regards

John

p.s. for Thymox, The 2 minute silence is held at 11 oclock on the 11th of November i.e. 11th hour, 11th day of the 11th month (sorry to be pedantic, but it's always signalled by the 11 oclock chime of big ben, and a field gun fired in Hyde Park by Kings Troop, Royal Horse Artillery - they don't bother with the minutes - Not only did I serve in Bosnia, but I've "done the Cenotaph" as well - and on "Remberance Sunday" all I ever think of is that the Queen should get her finger out of her arse, because those f*****g rifles get damned heavy after about 10 minutes)

Here in Nova Scotia they shut down KingsCounty entirely!

Pcghost :

I lost a grandfather .But I've never visited his grave because its a waste of time!
Once their dead thats it nothing can bring them back!

Again the point is missed. I do not visit my Grandfathers grave with the hope of bringing him back. The purpose is to remember the influence that he had on my life and to reflect on that which he taught me. I go out of respect and not with some ideological hope for something to change. A grave is designed to give people a sort of shrine to focus their thoughts on what the person lost meant to them. I know my grandfather is not there, but it helps me remember him, and that is the point....

I took the day off to take my children to the Cenotaph for this ceremony. I've gone every year for almost the last decade, and was amazed at the number of people who attended this year. The Ottawa Citizen quoted their number at over 11,000 attendees. It was very moving just to be there, with all of the others who braved the cold, the wind and the rain (and it was bloody cold).

My Grandfather fought in WW2, with the Royal Regiment of Canada, and was one of the soldiers who stormed the beaches in Normandy, and he took part in the Canadian push into, and the liberation of the Netherlands. He recalled, he died a few years back, bitterly how after Canada and the Dutch Free liberated Holland, the Americans and the British held a victory parade, and excluded the Canadians and Dutch. The love and undying thanks of the Dutch people towards Canada, and Canadian soldiers however, have made up for this slight by short sigthed egotistical generals of a bygone era.
My Grandfather's brother, was a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber during WW2 until his arm and shoulder were shattered by pieces of his plane when it was hit by cannon fire. He wouldn't talk much about it, but what we had found out (my Grandfather talked to other members of his planes crew after the war), was that his brother had been wounded on a return from a bombing raid in Germany, and after the Navigator patched up his shoulder, he had to suffer a 6 hour flight back to England suffering from blood loss and shock. He was 4 months in a hospital in England, before being sent home, and never recovered much use of his left arm.

Anyway, Lest we Forget...

Remember the old dicta:
those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
The two world wars were terrible occurences, so is any war.
lest we forget. Because if we forget, we are damning our children. and their children.

titanium_geek