WAR MEMORIAL LOCATED ON FRONT STREETSITE OF REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICES
Remembrance Day services will begin on Nov. 11 at 10:50 AM at the Cenotaph on Front Street next to St. Paul's Anglican Church.
There will be anthems, the reading of a Prayer of Remembrance. Then at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month there will be a gun salute followed by the Last Post which is followed by two minutes of silence.
If your time permits make your way downtown and pay your respect to the thousands who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live free. If you can not attend in person, take the time at eleven o'clock to stop what you are doing and remember in silence the cost paid.
Don't just read the following poem, but dwell on each word, let them sink down into your soul and think of the young men and women who laid it all down.
In
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (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
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.
Such a beautiful poem in memory of all those who fought so bravely. Rest in peace and remember you are loved.
ReplyDeleteI lost my wee father this year…a veteran of two wars. I was sent this poem from someone who knew how hard this years’ Remembrance Day service would be for me. I knew there would be others that would also appreciate this poem, at this time. Here is too all of you that have known such hero’s and commemorate their memory on such a day.
ReplyDeleteA POEM WORTH READING
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Joe has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Veteran died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Veteran died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Veteran
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Veteran,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?
Or would you want a Veteran
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Veteran,
Who would fight until the end.
He was just a common Veteran,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Veteran's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY."