Lest we forget

[McMurdo]

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

[Steve Ashton]

When I was growing up in the US we had parades and picnics on Veterans day. On Memorial day we visited cemeteries and put flags on the graves.

When I moved up here to Canada everything was very different. Each year on the 11th day of the 11th month the entire country seems to gather at cenotaphs and memorials. There is a nationwide two minutes of silence precisely at the 11th hour.

For a guy like me this was very strange. About like the current "Thank you for your service" that seems to come from everyone now.
When I came home from my first war I was spit on at the airport. You learned very quickly to do anything that would let you blend into the crowd, not to stand out as having been 'one of them'.

I came home from my second war and no one even noticed. I was on a flight with some flag draped coffins but they were taken off the plane in a hanger away from sight.

I have to admit that all the poppies and the older guys wearing their medals and ribbons on this one day leaves me just a little embarrassed. Until very recently it had never occurred to me to wear a poppy to remember. I could never forget, but I was taught that you never, ever, let that show.

I'm still a bit taken aback. My friends are always with me. Every day. But you can never explain that to anyone else. Sometimes not even to those who were with you then.

I will always remember the first time I visited 'The Wall'. I was still on active duty so wore full uniform. I stood there looking at the familiar names. No one said a word. Those in front would quietly step back after a while to let those waiting have some time, but it was all done in silence.
Then while walking away I happen to pass a small stall offering veterans flyers and information. The guy in the stall was wearing a ball cap with a unit crest on it. As I passed he quietly said "Welcome home". That was the first time anyone had ever said that in almost 20 years since stepping off that plane from Viet-Nam.

But I could not let it show how that one simple act affected me. I walked on a ways till out of his sight and sat on a bench.

I still feel uncomfortable wearing a poppy. Why only on this one day? I don't ever want, or could, forget. I don't need a poppy to remember.

But I do wear one. I wear it for those who don't have someone to remember them.

[ThistleDown]

Thank you for that, Steve.

[Steve Ashton]

Oh, and as an aside. Just in case you see me on the street. You may not, at first, see my poppy.

I have noticed and heard quite a few people commenting that they are wearing a poppy because everyone else seems to be wearing one. They don't want to be seen as not 'with it'.
I don't wear a poppy as a badge for the other people on the street. I don't wear it as a fashion statement.

My poppy is worn inside. On my shirt. Just above the left breast pocket.