Iron Maiden - Paschendale Lyrics

Paschendale.................Everyone remembers Verdun and The Somme. Few remember Paschendale. The Canadians remember.

Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day

It's that time of year again................................
All three terms in the title are appropriate to when one grew up and where.

Part of my growing up was in Alberta, Canada and I use Remembrance Day and Veterans Day interchangeably.

Why We Wear Poppies On Remembrance Day | Imperial War Museums

This is an outstanding read.

Having lived in The Commonwealth as a high school student in Alberta, Canada one learns that this is a very important day in the year.
In Canada it is still called Remembrance Day....................

Why We Wear Poppies On Remembrance Day | Imperial War Museums

For Armistice Day

I decided to use the traditional name for the 11th of November...................
At first it was Armistice Day.
Then there was Ypres..................
I have a link to Flanders in that my Great Grandpa Wambeke came to the United States from Flanders, in Belgium.
My Maternal Grandfather was in the Army in 1917-1918 and was preparing to ship overseas when the Armistice was signed.......................................................
I give you all Flanders Fields.

Remember. A Poem From A Friend

My friend, Janet had this on her page on Facebook. It is simple and poignant.
That is all.

Do you like me?
Do you care?
Do you understand
What put me there?

I was happy
Free and wild
I was carefree
Like a wondering child.

But then one day
The wind rushed in
The mailman came
Delivered sin.

He brought a notice
Black and white
It told me where
I'd be that night.

I opened it and
Read it straight away
Report for Duty!
Do not delay!!

I loved my country
And served with pride
I must admit, never really
Thought I'd die.

But on the field
With crimson stain
I lost my life
A victory gained

My best friend cried
Sitting there alone
Only 18, these feelings
He had not known.

He dragged me off
The field that night.
Collected things
I said I'd write.

I made him promise
As he laughed
The month before
In case I passed.

I said please remind
The ones I love
I didn't ever
Want to leave.

When they ask why
Just tell them this:
A fellow cannot
Be remiss.

He must stand
For what is good.
Protect and serve
Sometimes with blood.

I wanted to be there
For graduation,
Weddings, births
And collaborations.

I gave it up
And so did they
But don't distress, see
I've paved the way.

For you to raise
Your family
In the soft waving breeze
Of liberty.

I loved my life;
My wife and son
I did not even
Have a gun.

I was just a guy
With a heart and soul.
Doing things that
I'd rather not do.

But sometimes there
Are certain things
That one must stand for
Not just cling

To all our fears
Or childish ways
Refusing to see
Beyond the haze

Peace sounds great
It's what I want
That is why
I fought the fight.

For you and yours
To have a bright
Future full of love
Grace and delight.

I did not falter
I did not run
I did not sell us out
I stood my ground

For you and for
Our children, then
For family, friends;
Our countrymen.

When you tell her
If you stand
Before her
She will understand.

He called on her
It crushed her world
He held her close
As she unfurled.

But I was right
She handled well
The news that my
Last note would tell.

I did not give
My life in vain
For you to spit
Upon my grave.

So when you pass
My way and glance
At my headstone
In happenstance

With bronze details
So stark and grey
Remember that
I died that day.

~J. Knight, c 2014 (all rights reserved.)

THE REMEMBRANCE DAY POPPY

From Stormbringer.

ibTHE REMEMBRANCE DAY POPPY/b/i

This is the story of how the red field poppy came to be known as an internationally recognized symbol of Remembrance . . S.L.
Stormbringer sends..............................
Remember

The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month - Conservative News

The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month - Conservative News
 On the evening of November 10^th, 1918, General John J. Pershing – overall commander of the American Expeditionary Force in France – issued out his orders for the next day. They were for continued and unrelenting attack throughout the American sector of the line. Though the announcement had already been made to all units that a Cease Fire was to take effect at 11:00 am that following day, few had faith in its realities; General Pershing included. History tells us, however, that on that momentous day – at the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day, of the 11^th month – the guns did indeed fall silent for the first time in four years and four months. With that general armistice of hostilities, the First World War effectively drew to a conclusion. It had cost some 13 million lives, the greatest tragedy the world had yet seen, and it made a permanent mark on the generation that had experienced it.
For the rest of the article, hit the link above.

Veteran's Day

To all.

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.

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm