Remembrance Sunday
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Remembering Young Men Who Gave Their Lives For Their Country
In Britain we have Remembrance Sunday at the beginning of November. The emotions we have about our fallen soldiers are the same all over the world. There is deep regret that such promising lives should be cut down at so early an age. There is regret at the futility of war which we seem to get trapped into again and again. For each one who dies there is a family living in grief. There are little children who will never know their Daddy. Also there are the soldiers who have given their life in a different way; they have returned home but terribly maimed in body and mind, their healthy life given in exchange for a life of pain and handicap. We should remember them all not just at this time of the year but all year round. We should treat them with honour and respect.
Image of poppies from Allposters as below
Poppies
Young and willing
A typical soldier
And strapped for cash,
So he thought he would join the army.
Then he had his mates
And dates,
And money a plenty.
A good decision he had made he said.
He trained and trained,
Got his fitness sorted,
Learnt to handle a weapon,
Married the girl he wanted.
Then off he went to see the world.
Ended up in Afghanistan.
He stood by his mates
As they fought for democracy,
For a downtrodden people,
That's how he saw it.
His wife at home
Was proud of her man
As she chewed her nails with worry.
One day he went out in the tank.
It was not a good day
The tank was blown apart by the enemy's bomb
And our man with it.
They gathered him up
To put in a coffin
To fly him home.
His job done.
He was only a lad of 22
His widow much the same age
They had paid the price for wanting a life.
He had given his life for country and home.
Fighting for freedom
Woman in a burqa in Afghanistan
For Queen and country
A reasonable wage
There to help is the Royal British Legion which has been helping maimed soldiers for many years. Here is their website which will give you lots of information on their work Click here for The Royal British Legion The poppy has been the symbol of the Royal British legion because there were so many poppies growing on the battlefield in the First World War. It was something which could be easily made into a paper flower that could be sold each year to provide money for the disabled soldiers. They are still sold, or given for a donation at this time of the year and worn by many people in their lapel to show solidarity with the handicapped soldiers and remembering the dead.
Remember me
The cenotaph
The Queen honours her dead
Remembrance Sunday
On a grey day in November the poppies at the memorial make a poignant splash of colour.
While this is going on in the small villages and towns in London the Queen attends a much bigger ceremony and lays a wreath for the whole country. Ex-servicemen and women from all over the country gather to march through London to the cenotaph, which is a big national war memorial. Hymns are sung and prayers said. Remembering is important and not to be confused with glorifying war. We remember those who have suffered from the affects of war and pray for it to cease throughout our world.
Some links to relevant sites
- Images of Remembrance Day
- Images from many countries.
Paying tribute to their mates
Remembrance Sunday 2008
Some books to put things in perspective
How much honour should we give those killed in war?
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Tipi
May 19, 2011 @ 10:22 am | delete
- I saw that this was in November and first though I should wait to visit but I started reading and couldn't stop. A lovely and important tribute Liz!
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KathyMcGraw
Nov 5, 2009 @ 5:07 pm | delete
- Honoring our war dead is a time honored tradition. I loved the poem .
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mukunda22
Nov 4, 2009 @ 7:37 am | delete
- Lovely and also ####blessed####
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