Sunday, November 11, 2012

Lest We Forget


Nov 11

Remembrance Day. Poppy Day. Armistice Day.

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France.

11/11 Now is considered a memorial day since the end of World War I, to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.


The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.

 
It is called Poppy Day as well, due to the poem “In Flanders Fields” wrote by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I.

“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…”
 
 

2 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

John McCrae threw his poem away after he wrote it. Someone rescued it from the garbage can and sent it to Punch magazine in England. On publication, it became immediately famous.

david_b said...

God Bless our Veterans, from all countries and nationalities. It's our special remembrance and their sacrifice that keeps our leaders honest.

(Hopefully..)

It's easy to wave a banner or flag. I challenge folks to listen to their stories. As General Patton said many years ago.., 'Freedom has a taste, and for those who have fought for it, the taste is so sweet the protected will never know.'

After 26yrs of service, some indeed make me prouder, but ultimately, no political leader will ever sway that sense of nobility and honor.