Today is Remembrance Day. Some call it Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Anza Day, or Poppy Day it doesn’t matter. Many countries have different names but share a common remembrance date. What does matter is that we remember the sacrifices our veterans have made around the world for the freedoms we enjoy today.
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. The poppy came to be a symbol of remembrance from the poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Lieutenant John McCrae who was a surgeon attached to the Canadian 1st Field Artillery Brigade.
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.
Every year the number of WWII verterans shrink. The veterans are now coming from other peace-keeping efforts and conflicts around the world.
All of my relatives who served have now passed on save one, Uncle Jack who served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Canadian army artillery. He is in failing health but always the fighter. My deepest thanks to you Uncle Jack and to every veteran who sacrificed so much.
If you can’t attend a Remembrance Day ceremony today, please take two minutes of silence at 11 am today … to remember.
Clayton Shold
Salesopedia
