In my opinion this day is the most sacred holiday of the year. This is the only holiday that has not been tainted in any way by commercialism, and a day one can truly relax, knowing that there is no major preparation necessary. I truly appreciate this one day a year, where my thoughts go to the many men that suffered in ways we will never know or understand, so that we could live ignorant of war. This is a not meant to be a day of judgment, where some soldiers of one nation are remembered and those of another forgotten. This is a universal day of reflection and thought, a 24 hour pause to recognize who is responsible for our freedom.

If anyone has ever wondered why the phrase "Lest We Forget" and a Poppy appear on every page of the WW2Forums/WW2Network I compiled a little information about this and have presented it here.

Significance of the Poppy

During the Napoleonoc War, a correspondent wrote about how thickly poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in Flanders, France. In the 20th cebtury, the poppy again was widely noticed after soils in France and Belgium became rich in Lime from rubble during the First World War. The little red flowers flourished around the graves of the war dead as they had before. These blood red poppies caught the eye of one of the people who is responsible for the adoption of the poppy, especially in Canada. A Canadian medical officer, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, of Guelph Ontario, penned the famous In Flanders Fields poem in 1915. Colonel McCrae who was ultimately a victim of the "Great War", would probably never have dreamed that his poem would touch survivors and civilians so deeply. Two days before the Great War Armistice, Moina Michael, an American woman from Athens, Georgia, read the poem and was inspired to wear a poppy year-round in memory of the war dead. In 1920, Madame E. Guérin, of France, visited the united states and happened to meet Michael at the YMCA at Columbia University where Michael volunteered. Guérin resolved to sell handmade poppies around Armisrice Day to raise money for poor children in the war-torn areas of Europe. A year later, Field Marshall Earl Haig, the former commander in chief of the British armies France and Belgium and the principal founder of the British Legion, was sold on Guérin's fund raising idea and approved the organizatio of the British Poppy Day Appeal by the Legion to raise money for needy and disabled veterans. The same year, Guérin visited Canada and convinced the Great War Veterans Association, the predecessor to The Royal Canadian Legion, to also adopt the poppy as a symbol of rememberance in aid of fund raising. Currently, the Poppy campaign is one of The Royal Canadian Legion's most important programs. The money raised from poppy sales provides direct assistance for ex-service people in financial distress as well as funding for medical appliances and research, home services, care facilities and numerous other purposes includin non-veteran charities. The Poppy, worn over the heart around 11 November each year, is a symbol of gratitude, toward our veterans and those who have served in the military to whom we owe so much and especially the fallen, to whom our debt can never be repaid.

In Flander's Fields - A Poem by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D. (1872-1918) Canadian Army

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.

*(bloom)

The author of this poem, Leftenant Colonel John McCrae, a member of the first Canadian contingent, died in France on 28 January, 1918, after four years of service on the Western Front.

Original Draft of the Poem

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"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." Socrates

I totally agree with you my friend. Tomorrow--i'll be attending a vets ceremony at Sherrill Park here in town.

I'll get to see a few Pearl Harbor vets, and some from other wars. [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

I a curious aout how other countreis commeorate this day. In the UK, we don't have a holday. We have our main cmmemration on the nerest Suna. That was today. There is a big parade of vets past the Centaph and lots of wreths ae laid. On the 11th itself, we have a two minues silence at 11 O'clock. And do other countries wear Poppies.

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'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

Here in Australia, we don't have a holiday either on the 11th November. There are ceremonies held at the various war memorials and wreaths are laid at the Cenotaphs. We only have 1 minutes silence at 11am on this day.

However, on our other "veterans day", Anzac Day, we do have a public holiday, with every town and city having a march of their veterans down the main street. And I am proud to say, that it isn't just the cities and the bigger towns, it's every town, no matter how small.

Australia will never forget the sacrifice made by our own men and women, and the men and women of other countries, that has given us the freedom we have now.

LEST WE FORGET

In the US - it's considered a "holiday" but almost optionally as far as career goes. Some businesses will close (mostly banks, post offices, some public offices) but most continue. However, there are many parades, it's all over TV, schools have kids draw pictures and send them to Vets, etc.

Personally, I'd love to see the US make it a holiday where everything shut down in honor of the vets.

I'll be seeking out the vets today, m'self!

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"It won't be long now until I come home, darling."
(Donald B. Greenwood - 'grampa' - in a letter home to his wife in Oct. 1943 - he came home in Sep. 1945)

I agree with you Grampas Girl. I also thought the the UK had the holiday called 'Armistace Day'? Doesn't the Queen or a representative lay a wreath on (can't remember the name) some monument at Trafalgar Square? The location may not be correct, it has been a while so no offense intended to my British friends.

[ 11. November 2002, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: PzJgr ]

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

No, she did that yesterday (Sunday). Its laid at the Cenotaph, which is in Whitehall. After that, all the Vets march past and lay their wreaths. On the day itself, there are smaller ceremonies around the country at all the different memorials. Just about everywhere has its memorial Garden. The 11th, 'Remembarence Day' is not a Holiday. But just about everywhere, including schools and shops, hold a minutes slence at 11 O'clock.

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'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-vets11.html

Saluting those who gave their youth, health, lives

BY KATE N. GROSSMAN STAFF REPORTER

On a serene overlook in one of the city's oldest cemeteries Sunday, Retired Major Ned Ricks had a simple message to impart on the eve of Veterans Day 2002.

"Veterans aren't just those who gave their lives," Ricks told a crowd of about 125 people gathered by a small lake at Rosehill Cemetery on the Far North Side. "There are also those who made living sacrifices--their youth and sometimes their health."

"Let's hear your thanks now," the decorated U.S. Army Reserve major said. "All too soon they won't be here to hear it."

It was a message that resonated with the crowd, a mix of veterans, family and locals, including U.S. Rep.-elect Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago) and his two young children.

"This gives me the chills," said Louis Nathan, a 69-year-old Korean War veteran. "Just seeing all these people saluting veterans makes you feel good."

Added World War II veteran Walter Babicz, 75: "It's important to show your respect and remember it even more now with Sept. 11."

The call to honor veterans was particularly meaningful, several said, as the United States moves ever closer to a war with Iraq.

"People need to acknowledge that there will be more veterans," said Daniel Wenserski, a World War II veteran and commander of Amvets Post No. 243, which helped organize the memorial.

"I hope it happens soon so people can come home already. There are already enough graves around here," he said motioning to the 200,000 grave sites at Rosehill, including veterans of nearly every war. Among those buried at Rosehill are about 200 Civil War veterans, including a dozen generals and five Medal of Honor recipients.

The ceremony, which began with a procession along a road lined with flapping American flags, left out no pomp and circumstance.

The crowd was treated to a salute by Lane Tech High School's honor guard, the playing of Amazing Grace by the Emerald Society Bagpipers, taps by bugler R.J. Samp and the singing of the national anthem. It wrapped up with a musket volley and a cannon salute by a Civil War re-enactment group.

"In 1918, on the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice was signed ending World War I," World War II veteran Emil George Giese told the crowd, explaining the history of Veterans Day. "I remember as a boy everyone was to stop, face east toward Europe and remember those that fought in the war--the war that was supposed to be a war to end all wars."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Veterans Day, 2002, Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

http://photos.innersource.com/page/142/423

[ 17. November 2002, 02:20 AM: Message edited by: Crapgame ]

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This information has been posted for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes.
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"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." - Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 19, 1863
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"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." - William Faulkner

Just got back from Armistice weekend in Ypres, Flanders, where John McCrae wrote the poem in 1915. There were thousands present at the ceremont around the Menin Gate, the main British and Commonwealth memorial there, including many WW2 vets, but only 3 from WW1 - the youngest was 103!

Remembering on the battlefields themselves is becoming more and more 'popular' (if that is the phrase to use).

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Paul Reed
Webmaster - Battlefields of WW2- http://www.ww2battlefields.info
D Day Ancestors: The British Army in Normandy - http://www.ddayancestors.com

Glad to know that more and more people take the time to remember. I watched the commemoration on the BBC.

I Holland we don't commemorate on 11-11. People from RAFA do, but the Dutch have their rememberance day on May 4th. We remember all that died for our freedom; Dutch resistance and Allied soldiers. We don't wear poppies. We don't really have a symbol for rememberance, but the National Service is always held on the Dam Square, here in Amsterdam, at the National Memorial.

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Thanks Bish. I knew there was some kind of commemoration. I just forgot where. Thanks for clarifying. Hope I did not offend anybody with my amnesia.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

My WW1 knowledge is pretty slim, but am i correct in thinking that Holland was not occupied in The Great War, and remained neutral. If so, then i guess that explains why you don't comemorate Nov 11th or wear poppies, as these are both associated with WW1.

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'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

No problem. I have often woundered how others comemorate this day, and this seemed like the right time and place to ask. I had absoloutly no idea how othersdid it. I had heard of Veterens day, but did not associate it with Nov 11th. Now i know.

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'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT