..:: Official Remembrance Day Thread ::..

[The Scholar]

Official Remembrance Day (November 11th) Thread

Folks:

World War I aka 'The War to end all Wars' came to an official end on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour in the year 1918.

I have attended many Remembrance Day ceremonies over the years. I am always moved by them. If I cannot attend, I will always watch it on television. It's the least I can do to remember those who served Canada.

It has seen been the official day to remember those who have died in the service of their country. I have many relatives who served in the Canadian Armed Forces in WW II. I am certain many of the members on this board can say the same thing.

There are many survivors that, to this day still, cannot speak of the horrors that they saw while fighting on the front lines. The conventional warfare of WW I and WW II is so very different from the high tech warfare that is used today.

I remember speaking to a relative about the horrors of war and I will never forget his response: "It's a funny thing what men will do to preserve freedom. Sometimes, you pay with your life so that your children and grandchildren will be free"

I have heard the same thing from so many other veterans. There are many who still live with injuries sustained during war. Many of them tell me that it was worth the price to ensure that Canada remained a free nation.

I am grateful to the men and women who have served our country and pay tribute to the Canadian submariner who recently died in the service of his nation.

Please share your stories about Remembrance Day.

Btw, do you wear a poppy? I do!

Regards.

P.S. If you are not a Canadian, please share your views regarding Remembrance Day in your country.

 

[stainless]

Rembrance should be a national holiday. i know some provinces honor it more than others like in B.C. The sacrifice that was given in the 2 W.W.'s should never be forgotten. It has kept our country safe and free.

 

[The Scholar]

*bump*

I hope you have not forgotten to pause for a minute tomorrow at 11 am wherever you may be!

Regards.

 

[Ranger68]

Please take two minutes out of your year to pay homage to the sacrifice of the brave few.

 

[wrong hole]

je me souvien

 

[booboobear]

Rembrance should be a national holiday. i know some provinces honor it more than others like in B.C. The sacrifice that was given in the 2 W.W.'s should never be forgotten. It has kept our country safe and free.

It should be with a holiday with a special ceremony to attend. I fear as the years go and the vets die it is becoming more forgotten.

 

[Drunken Master]

My favourite war poem - "Strange Meeting" by Wilfred Owen

It seemed that out of battle I escaped
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped
Through granites which titanic wars had groined.


Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless.
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,-
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.


With a thousand pains that vision's face was grained;
Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.
'Strange friend,' I said, 'here is no cause to mourn.'
'None,' said that other, 'save the undone years,
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
Was my life also; I went hunting wild
After the wildest beauty in the world,
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
But mocks the steady running of the hour,
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.
For by my glee might many men have laughed,
And of my weeping something had been left,
Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
The pity of war, the pity war distilled.
Now men will go content with what we spoiled,
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery,
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels,
I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
Even with truths that lie too deep for taint.
I would have poured my spirit without stint
But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.


'I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now....'

 

[Annessa]

For All The Canadian Troops Over The Years That Died For Our Freedom

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By: John McCrea



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.




Annessa
xoxo

 

[BiggieE]

I will always remember the lady, a friend of my grandmothers, who even many years after the war was over, still displayed her Gold Star plaque in her front window...3 Gold Stars...1 Blue Star. She has since passed on to be with her sons, as they had all died many years before she did. Her lone suriviving son was fortunate enough to have a son of his own before he passed. She was never bitter, or angry for losing her sons, for she thought it her gift to the nation, a gift to Freedom. I have heard this story many times over. How many mothers must give their sons for Freedom. We always hope as few as possible, but as long as there are those who hate, there will be those who love. And what more noble way to show that love, than to offer the Supreme Sacrifice for your Nation.........

 

[drlove]

Please take two minutes out of your year to pay homage to the sacrifice of the brave few.

Lest We Forget...

 

[Goober Mcfly]

.

 

[Ranger68]

Lest We Forget

 

[eyeofthedragon]

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one

 

[impala77]

Response to In flander's fields

Oh! sleep in peace where poppies grow;
The torch your falling hands let go
Was caught by us, again held high,
A beacon light in Flanders sky
That dims the stars to those below.
You are our dead, you held the foe,
And ere the poppies cease to blow,
We'll prove our faith in you who lie
In Flanders Fields.
Oh! rest in peace, we quickly go
To you who bravely died, and know
In other fields was heard the cry,
For freedom's cause, of you who lie,
So still asleep where poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.

As in rumbling sound, to and fro,
The lightning flashes, sky aglow,
The mighty hosts appear, and high
Above the din of battle cry,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below,
Are fearless hearts who fight the foe,
And guard the place where poppies grow.
Oh! sleep in peace, all you who lie
In Flanders Fields.


And still the poppies gently blow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
The larks, still bravely soaring high,
Are singing now their lullaby
To you who sleep where poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.


- John Mitchell

 

[Warm Hands]

I attended the service at City Hall yesterday, and it was beautiful. There was a great sized crowd, as well, which is always nice to see. This poem was on the back of the program. I don't know who to attribute it to.


Lest We Forget

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
at the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
we will remember them.

WH