Remembrance Day
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we all pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, during peacekeeping missions, and still are in Afghanistan and Iraq.
If we do not remember the sacrifices made by those who have died in battle, their lives will be almost meaningless. They died doing what they believed in. They died for us, for their homes and families, and friends, for a collection of traditions that they cherished and a future they believed in; they died for freedom. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousnesses; our future is their monument.
Here is some interesting information about Remembrance Day
http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/grief/grief05.html
The History of the Poppy
A writer first made the connection between the poppy and the battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century. The writer remarked that fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.
During the tremendous bombardments of the First World War the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing ‘popaver rhoeas’ to thrive. When the war ended the lime was quickly absorbed, and the poppy began to disappear again. After John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields was published in 1915 the poppy became a popular symbol for soldiers who died in battle. Three years later an American, Moina Michael, was working in a New York City YMCA canteen when she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died on the battlefield.
During a 1920 visit to the United States a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom. On her return to France she decided to use handmade poppies to raise money for the destitute children in war-torn areas of the country. In November, 1921, the first poppies were distributed in Canada.
Thanks to the millions who wear flowers each November, the little red plant has never died. And neither have the memories of the thousands of brave soldiers who have, and continue to fight for our freedom.
The story of soldier Gordon Cameron
http://www3.sympatico.ca/berdusco/gord1.htm
May we all take time on Monday November 11th to remember!
See you next time, Nurse Audrey signing off!