Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada and other commonwealth countries. It is the day set aside to remember the all the servicemen and women who have died in the line of duty since World War 1. In Canada it is a day for, in the words of Veterans Affairs Canada, “remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace.” It is a little like the American’s Veterans Day and Memorial Day combined into one, I suppose.

We wear poppies from the last Friday in October until the evening of November 11th as a mark of remembrance for veterans. The symbol comes from the poem by Canadian John McCrae, In Flanders Fields, which memorializes the poppies that grew on the graves of soldiers who died at the second battle of Ypres in World War 1. Most Canadian school children have this poem memorized well before they reach middle school, and I bet a large number of adults can recite at least the first two lines from memory.

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.

I hope fellow Commonwealth dwellers were/are able to observe a minute of silence today to remember all service members who gave their life and those who continue to make sacrifices to keep us and people all over the world safe.