11/11/12

[Downunder Kilt]

To the fallen, those that have served and those that are still serving, I salute you and say thank you.

For The Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn in drums thrill: Death august and royal
Signs sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not 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.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again:
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labor of the daytime;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
felt as a wellspring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars that are known to the Night.

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
to the end, to the end, they remain.

Binyon
(1869 - 1943)

LEST WE FORGET

[guardsman]

Inverness shire gave more troops per capita than any other county in britain for WW1

[xman]

Thank-you. For one cultural poem of remembrance, another.

In Flanders Fields

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.

Written by Doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1872 – 1918) on May 3, 1915

Interestingly this poem as many of his were, was recorded in his field medical notebook which he entitled 'The Book of the Dead'.

[pbutts]

[sailortats]

Three beautiful tributes. Thank you. It's wondeful to see this holiday being remembered properly. I shall be attending the parade here in San Francisco tomorrow morning and if it is anything like all those before it I will be one of only a handful of people watching. I don't understand, I just don't understand.

[Steve Ashton]

When I lived in the US, Veterans day usually meant a visit to the air show or a picnic followed by fireworks.

Since moving up here to Canada I have found a different view.

Each November 11th, at exactly 11:00, everything stops. People attending graveside memorials, those on the sidewalks, in the mall, everywhere, stop, bow their heads, and stand in silence for 2 minutes.

This video brings a lump to my throat each year.

[Bill aka Mole]

I posted this to my FB friends (since the majority is military) on Thursday:

To all veterans who shall see this, Greetings!

I have served with a good many of you. We have been on the receiving end of inspections, drills, close calls and other items that will not be discussed in public. We have a bond that can not be described to those who never served. We had each others back through good and bad times. Even when I was not the best in the job that I was in when we served together, you were there for me. And I hope that I was there for you just as often.

And to those who served that I didn't serve with, you know that any other veteran will have your back, regardless the branch they served in. It's a military thing. I know that I don't have the words to explain it, but that doesn't mean that it isn't true.

In the US, this Sunday is Veterans Day; in Canada, it is Remembrance Day. Whatever it is called where you are, remember those veterans that came before us, the ones that taught us, those that we served with and those that are currently serving today. We know what our jobs entailed, we may know what their jobs are today. When you see your country's flag pass by, I know that you will stand a bit taller, a touch straighter. That is your pride in your service. And know that I am proud of you too.

Happy Veterans and Remembrance Day.