Veterans Day

[Taterbug]

Thank you Veterans for sacrificing life and limb so that I can live free,
And thanks to the families of soldiers who endure great pain and suffering when loved ones are lost defending this great country.

[BH]

I sometimes forget that so much is still going on in the world and so many are still losing their lives.  And that's exactly the freedom they are fighting for that allows me to live a normal every day life.  My thanks go out to each and every one.  You may agree or disagree with the current situations we are in, but you cannot deny the sacrifices that have been made to bring freedom not just to us but to others across the globe.

[Jaimoe]

It's Remembrance Day in Canada, UK and all the current and past British colonies that took part in the 20th century wars. It's a big deal here just like it is in the US. In case anyone is curious, since 1921, Canadians wear poppies on our jackets and shirts to honour the dead (same with the UK). The tradition came to fruition following what Canadian Lieutenant-Col. John McCrae wrote what he saw after a battle in WWI. The poem is brilliant and sad and part of folklore.

Here's the write-up with the poem at the end, for anyone who cares:

Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae was born on 30 November 1872 in Guelph, Ontario. At age 14, he joined the Highfield Cadet Corps and, three years later, enlisted in the Militia field battery. While attending the University of Toronto Medical School, he was a member of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.

With Britain declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Canada's involvement was automatic. John McCrae was among the first wave of Canadians who enlisted to serve and he was appointed as brigade surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Artillery.

In April 1915, John McCrae was stationed near Ypres, Belgium, the area traditionally called Flanders. It was there, during the Second Battle of Ypres, that some of the fiercest fighting of the First World War occurred. Working from a dressing station on the banks of the Yser Canal, dressing hundreds of wounded soldiers from wave after wave of relentless enemy attack, he observed how "we are weary in body and wearier in mind. The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare."

In May, 1915, on the day following the death of fellow soldier Lt Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, John McCrae wrote his now famous work, an expression of his anguish over the loss of his friend and a reflection of his surroundings – wild Poppies growing amid simple wooden crosses marking makeshift graves. These 15 lines, written in 20 minutes, captured an exact description of the sights and sounds of the area around him.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae left Ypres with these memorable few lines scrawled on a scrap of paper. His words were a poem which started, "In Flanders fields the poppies blow..." Little did he know then that these 15 lines would become enshrined in the innermost thoughts and hearts of all soldiers who hear them. Through his words, the scarlet Poppy quickly became the symbol for soldiers who died in battle.

The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in England, appearing in "Punch" magazine.



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