Lest We Forget....As We Take So Much For Granted
It seems the older I get the more I appreciate the sacrifices that people have made so I can live in such a great country. In today's world where war is playing on TV every day, and not on a video game, it makes one think what would have happened if they didn't commit the ultimate sacrifice. Today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq don't make any sense, but then does any war make sense? I hope that the sacrifices that our troops are making are worth the fight. History will tell us if the fight was worth it, if it was bigger than we imagine now. God bless all of them!!
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
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.
Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae was born on 30 November 1872 in Guelph, Ontario. At age 14, he joined the Highfield Cadet Corps and, three years later, enlisted in the Militia field battery. While attending the University of Toronto Medical School, he was a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
With Britain declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Canada’s involvement was automatic. John McCrae was among the first wave of Canadians who enlisted to serve and he was appointed as brigade surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Artillery.
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.
In April 1915, John McCrae was stationed near Ypres, Belgium, the area traditionally called Flanders. It was there, during the Second Battle of Ypres, that some of the fiercest fighting of the First World War occurred. Working from a dressing station on the banks of the Yser Canal, dressing hundreds of wounded soldiers from wave after wave of relentless enemy attack, he observed how “we are weary in body and wearier in mind. The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare.”
In May, 1915, on the day following the death of fellow soldier Lt Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, John McCrae wrote his now famous work, an expression of his anguish over the loss of his friend and a reflection of his surroundings – wild Poppies growing amid simple wooden crosses marking makeshift graves. These 15 lines, written in 20 minutes, captured an exact description of the sights and sounds of the area around him.
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.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae left Ypres with these memorable few lines scrawled on a scrap of paper. His words were a poem which started, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow…” Little did he know then that these 15 lines would become enshrined in the innermost thoughts and hearts of all soldiers who hear them. Through his words, the scarlet Poppy quickly became the symbol for soldiers who died in battle.
The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in England, appearing in “Punch” magazine.
IN FLANDERS FIELDSIn 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.
John McCrae
His poem speaks of Flanders fields, but the subject is universal – the fear of the dead that they will be forgotten, that their death will have been in vain. Remembrance, as symbolized by the Poppy, is our eternal answer which belies that fear.
Sadly, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae died of pneumonia at Wimereux, France on 28 January 1918. He was 45 years old.
(Acknowledgement of text and photos: The Royal Canadian Legion and Canadian War Museum - Remembrance Day)
5 comments:
No one in my family ever served in war. My grandfather set up some missiles in Turkey during the Cold War, but that was just electronics and almost wiped the world out during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
That aside, I'm touched deeply by each story of current Canadian soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan. It's heartbreaking to see the wives, children and parents burying these honourable young men.
A beautiful entry on a special day Sirdar. We were in a restaurant today and a waitress came out and asked everyone to honour the 2 minutes of silence at 11:00am. You could have heard a pin drop.
My great-uncle served in WW2. He survived, but he would never talk of his experiences. It wasn't until he was dying of cancer that he mentioned anything to do with that time in his life.
I spent this week on Remembrance Day's activities with the children, and we focused on really understanding that poem.
Thank-you for writing your entry - it's a wonderful tribute.
Hey Stranger,
My father-in-law served as a tail gunner in WWII. Sadly, I never had the chance to hear many stories from him as he died of cancer a year after Paul and I were married. But he left with us his scrapbook full of newspaper clippings, photos and notes of his missions overseas. When the kids were younger, every year at this time we pulled that scrapbook out and quite often lent it to the school for a week or two. It served as a good reminder of what we to often take for granted in our lives...our freedom.
But time has not been kind to that scrapbook. The pages are fading and browning with age. I should look into someplace that can restore it so it can continue to be that reminder for many more generations to come.
Cathy
No one in our family has served that I know of, but I definitely appreicate the sacrifices of those who have, and honor their memory.
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