Lest We Forget

[Anarchemitis]

On November 11th on the 11th hour, we pause and Remember those who fell in World War I & II. Veterans Day, Rememberance Day, Armstice or Poppy, regardless of what we call it, we all know it's immeasurable significance in the uncountable blessings the Freedom provides that was fought for in the blood of men and women of many nations so many years ago.
On the 11th we mourn for those who we knew, who were and who are, who lived and died for us and our countries.

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.
[sup]Lt. Col. John McCrae[/sup]
​

What is it that you can say on behalf of yourself, the living or the dead due to the Great Conflicts of the century past which you Remember?

My great grandfather was an ambulance attendant for the Canadian forces in World War II, and I dare not imagine the travesties and atrocities he witnessed and attended to.

 

[corporate_gamer]

Every bullet has a billet,
and some have more than one.
My Gods perhaps I killed a mother,
when I killed a mothers Son.

Went on a school trip to the mass graves in Belgium a few years ago, they read out that poem and played the last post on the bugle. Poignant to say the least.

 

[jim_doki]

*salutes*

 

[cleverlymadeup]

i'm still mad at heritage canada for their John McCrae bit, they had to be sued and still said he was from montreal and added the city he was from and spent most of his life in as a quick footnote

still bugs me they tried to give quebec all the credit, when he lived there for all of 3 years and 20+ in ontario

anyways there is this too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSJ8rDlBZ_I

 

[HerrBobo]

You know there are only 10 vets of WW1 still alive. Amazing is'nt.

My great uncle fought for it British in Greece. He told me once about a group of Italian that had surrended in a small wood. They were told to come out with their hands in the air. They did so, but with closed fists. My great uncle saw a glint in one of their hands and machine gunned all 15 of them. When I asked him what had they got in their hands, he shrugged and said it did not matter.

I remember looking at this tiny and frail old man who had killed 15 people and thinking were are all products of circumstance.

 

[WolfLordAndy]

/respect

They gave it all to keep the world free. Thankfully my Grandad didn't see much combat as he only joined at the end of the war and was stationed in North Africa.

 

[Alex_P]

Here's an interesting article about the last of the war dead -- folks who died after the armistice was signed at 5 am:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7696021.stm

-- Alex

 

[The Iron Ninja]

Poems away!
*regains posture to go with the solemn feel of the thread*

"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."

 

[roblikestoskate]

excellent thread.

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

It's good that people still remember those who gave their lives in our defence.

It also highlights some of the recent conflicts we've had that were unnecessary and costly.

 

[black lincon]

I have a rich history of family in WW2. My grandfather was a navigator for a cargo plane, my great uncle on my moms side was an MP, 3 of my great uncles on my dads side were members of the navy, and I'm sad to say it but one of my other great uncles was a biochemist on the Manhattan project. I also have a great grandfather in WW1 as an artilleryman. I also have a friend on Xbox Live who's in the US military(National guard, not deployed).

I have great respect for the troops that have protected my freedoms and the freedoms of others.

*salutes*

 

[Hookman]

I salute those who fought and died for our freedom throughout the years. They will never be forgotton.

 

[Anarchemitis]

My hope is that Virgil closes the website for one minute on the 11th hour tomorrow for the traditional solemn moment.

 

[jim_doki]

i already had my minutes silence, standing and saluting, a lot of good people died in the war to end all wars, and all the ones after it

 

[crazy-j]

May all those brave men rest in peace. We are forever in debt to the great sacrifice they made for us to be here today.

 

[Gxas]

I love the song "The Green Fields of France" by the Dropkick Murphys. It, IMO, is a great song with a lot of feeling behind it. It's all about WW1.

Here is a link, as I think it helps commemorate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huRwBFmAx78

 

[Iceman23]

So the time comes once again where I salute my Grandfather, and all of the others who have fought for their countries.

*salute*

You have my undying respect, and certainly won't be forgotten.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Shane McGowan sings "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfDyCbpf494]

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

 

[Mcdouchedeluxplus]

*salutes*

 

[Space Spoons]

*salute*
My grandfather, an African-American, served during World War II. He passed away of old age many years ago, but I still remember vividly his stories of what it was like on the front, how all of the racial tension that had followed him around like a specter back home seemed to disappear. He always said that out there, where you got up realizing that that morning could be the last time you saw the sun rise, everyone was equal, because they were all fighting for the same thing: Freedom.