Remeberance Day

[IrishBerserker]

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. The day we remember those who have fallen in service to their countries. The day that we remember the horrors of war in hopes of never repeating them.

We all commemorate this day and just as our countries are varied, so are our ways of commemoration. From we Canadians wearing a Poppy over our heart. To the worldwide moment of silence held at the 11th hour.

I ask you, how do you commemorate this day? How do you remember the fallen?

Post your answers to these questions. Post the name of a member of your family who has fallen. Post a relavent picture, whether it be a Poppy, a Wreath or whatever. Post a poem or song. or don't post at all, it is your choice.

All i ask is that you never forget the sacrafices made and...

...Remember the Fallen.

 

[Dark Knifer]

We had a service at our school about it, but I didn't do anything individually.

 

[lostclause]

Can I ask why you wear poppies for it? I've seen a couple of users with them. In NZ they tend to represent ANZAC day so you can understand my confusion.

'With the going down of the sun, we will remember them.'

 

[Pimppeter2]

We take a moment of silence. We also get the day off work or school

My dad served in Greece's army, as did my cousins

 

[Lord_Panzer]

Can I ask why you wear poppies for it? I've seen a couple of users with them. In NZ they tend to represent ANZAC day so you can understand my confusion.

'With the going down of the sun, we will remember them.'

"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."
-Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

He happened to be Canadian, so it's kind of a big deal here.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I spend it sleeping in bed because of the lack of school, but the day before we usally have the ROTC program come in and read some messages. Honestly though, it dosen't feel like enough to me. We have a parade for a football game, but the Veterans only get a silly speech?

 

[VeX1le]

In Canada it's called Remembrance Day? Here in America it's called Veterans Day.
Well i dont know anyone in the military. I don't know what im going to do.

Spoiler: O Captain my Captain

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

I guess this poem is sorta relevant.

 

[Motti]

We had a service today at school and I read this speech about world war one. Apart from that, just remembering the fallen and all that.
Lest we forget.

 

[KillerH]

I always watch the service on CTV and attend the local parade.

My Grandfather was in the 48th Highlanders, for anyone that knows what that means.

 

[MorsePacific]

I've had plenty of family and friends in the military, so Veteran's/Armistice Day is always a big deal. It's also my birthday so, you know, that too.

 

[bookboy]

I usually try to spend it educating the uninformed about who and what we are remembering, as I seem to be one of the few people I know who has any clue as to what is going on.
so, a bit of history for those on the escapist who are unfamiliar with this holiday:

on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 AM. the Germans signed the treaty of Ameins, in France, which signaled their official surrender and the end of what would come to be known in the west as the first world war. eventually, several governments decided to label this date as the annual holiday of remembrance for veterans who have served the country, and, more specifically, those who lost their lives in the process. this is usually accompanied by a moment of silence, and then the playing of a specific military song, the last post in Britain and Canada, Taps in the U.S.A., don't know about elsewhere.

this was a really big thing in Canada, (because we single-handedly won the first world war)but the popularity seems to be fading due to people just generally not caring any more.

EDIT: oh, and in reference to the poem called "In Flanders Fields" that someone poster above, the poem is about a particularly bloody battle the Canadians fought in called the second battle of Ypres. in which all of the French soldiers panicked and ran away when they saw a huge cloud of poison gas coming towards their lines, but the Canadians held and managed to repel the German attack.

 

[ae86gamer]

This holiday has never been big in the US (at least where I am), so I don't do anything special.

Same with me. I had never even heard of it until now. >_>

 

[Ophiuchus]

We do it a bit differently here in the UK. We observe Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day separately, unless of course November 11th happens to fall on a Sunday, in which case they're obviously the same thing.

We go through most of the observances on Remembrance Sunday (the nearest Sunday to November 11th). There's a big parade in London, in which loads of people including various members of the royal family and the government go to The Cenotaph (famous war memorial a few seconds walk from where the Prime Minister lives) and lay wreaths and stuff, and of course towns all over the country have their own things going on.

Usually, the only thing that happens on the 11th (Armistice Day) is the two minute silence at 11am. Schools will nearly always take part. Workplaces generally do. No idea what they do here at my university - I guess the lecturers might ask their class to observe it if they're in at 11am, but other than that I doubt it'll be enforced. Personally, I just forget if I'm not reminded by everyone else around me doing it. Today, I've got the day off so I'll either be asleep or faffing around on the computer.

(Incidentally, we had a Veterans Day too, but it's now called Armed Forces Day... and it's in June and it's not a proper public holiday.)

 

[CouchCommando]

Buy a couple of legion pins to support the war widows and orphans fund, have a beer at the local RSL with a minutes silence, and listen to The Fureys "The Green Fields of France"
sombre times all around, except of course my family is rather old fashioned and not many people seem to do anything these days.

 

[MelziGurl]

Can I ask why you wear poppies for it? I've seen a couple of users with them. In NZ they tend to represent ANZAC day so you can understand my confusion.

'With the going down of the sun, we will remember them.'

I know you've recieved a couple of replies to this but here's some reading on The Red Poppy's significance.

http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/poppy.html

 

[Dys]

Can I ask why you wear poppies for it? I've seen a couple of users with them. In NZ they tend to represent ANZAC day so you can understand my confusion.

'With the going down of the sun, we will remember them.'

In Australia we use them for both ANZAC day and rememberance day.

OT: Same deal as canadians, except 11am here is before you posted saying tomorrow is rememberance day

 

[irishdelinquent]

My great uncle served and died as a gunner along with his fellow Canadians in WWI. I plan to remember that sacrifice by having a moment of silence in his honour...and then getting drunk in his honour (he actually would've probably liked me to do that more )

 

[Doktor Merkwurdigliebe]

For us, since 11.11.18 it's the Independence Day, and the moment when preparations for Polish-Soviet war begun, so back then there were few celebrations around and it's also kind of a big deal. We don't have a Remeberance Day as it is, but usually it's also a Military Day, so parades, tanks 'n' stuff.

 

[lostclause]

In Australia we use them for both ANZAC day and rememberance day.

We don't have a remembrance day, for us it really is ANZAC day.

I know you've recieved a couple of replies to this but here's some reading on The Red Poppy's significance.

http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/poppy.html

I knew some of that from the ANZAC tales, the tales of Gallipoli. My confusion came from why the Canadians also used the same symbol, I didn't realise it also grew at Flanders. Thanks for this.

 

[Dys]

In Australia we use them for both ANZAC day and rememberance day.

We don't have a remembrance day, for us it really is ANZAC day.

Really? That's a bit odd, we have both, 11/11 and 25/04 and use poppies to celebrate both.