1. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2007
    Messages:
    12,834
    Likes Received:
    151
    Location:
    Reading, UK

    Remembrance Day Thread

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Banzai, Nov 11, 2011.

    I do this every year on this day, and this year is no exception.

    Today is Remembrance Day, across the Commonwealth. It commemorates the day on which the armistice was signed which ended the First World War in 1918, and is used as a day to remember and to commemorate those who have given their lives in wars across the world, and throughout the ages.

    In Britain, we hold a nationwide two minutes silence at 11am (the time at which the First World War guns fell silent), as a gesture and as a time to specifically stop and think of how much we owe those who died. We also wear poppies, which serve two purposes: firstly, as a fundraiser for the Royal British Legion, a charity who work to help serving and former members of the armed forces; and secondly, because poppies were what grew in great numbers on the battlefields.

    I know that in the USA, you have your own Veterans' Day, so I have explained Remembrance Day so that everyone can understand what it means. Please take some time today to think of all of those who have given their lives so that you can live in freedom and safety. And please feel free to leave any messages of remembrance you may wish to share in this thread.


    In Flanders Fields
    By John Mcrae (1915)

    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.


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2007
    Messages:
    10,704
    Likes Received:
    3,425
    Location:
    Northeast England
    I'm wearing a poppy. WW1 is one of the more unappreciated wars. But the saddest thing about it is is: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
     
  3. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2011
    Messages:
    1,877
    Likes Received:
    5
    what does ''dulce et decorum est pro patria mori'' mean?:p
    (sorry do not mean to derail from topic)
     
  4. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2011
    Messages:
    1,877
    Likes Received:
    5
    I just need to ask this:

    any particular reasone why
    the eleventh month the eleventh day the eleventh hour?

    I think an International Armistice day is timely due.
     
  5. Thanshin

    Thanshin Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2010
    Messages:
    562
    Likes Received:
    13
    Location:
    Spain
    Candy and decorations are professional father moors.

    Obviously.



    (Sweet and elegant is to die for one's country, I think)
     
  6. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2011
    Messages:
    1,877
    Likes Received:
    5
    thank you.
     
  7. Eunoia

    Eunoia Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2010
    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    81
    Location:
    England
    It was when the First World War officially ended in 1918.

    I haven't got a poppy, I've been looking to get one but I haven't seen them anywhere although people are wearing them. I'll scout around town again and try and get one. I had a seminar during the two minutes silence and we didn't stop for it which seemed quite odd. The tutor was wearing a poppy though. I've been thinking a lot about it the past few weeks with Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday coming up and I think about it a lot anyway because I'm really interested in the world wars.
     
  8. Tessie

    Tessie Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2010
    Messages:
    1,103
    Likes Received:
    62
    Location:
    Mass
    I'll be wearing a red poppy I got last year. At my local grocery store, there's a little old lady who's been handing out red poppies on Veteran's Day for forty-something years. She's so sweet, and this has always been a special day for me personally. Both of my grandfathers were in WWII, my paternal grandfather was in Vietnam and N. Korea. Although none of my immediate relatives have been in combat, my family has always shared a deep respect for the ones who have given so much.

    @Lemex: I love that quote. It's so fitting and beautiful, I'll remember that all day.
     
  9. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2007
    Messages:
    10,704
    Likes Received:
    3,425
    Location:
    Northeast England
    It's from the Roman poet Horace. Meaning: 'It is a sweet and seemly thing, to die for one's country'.
     
  10. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,563
    Location:
    California, US
    I'd like to acknowledge all veterans, and to remember Major Jason E. George.

    Thank you.
     
  11. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2011
    Messages:
    1,877
    Likes Received:
    5
    thank you for that.
    Armistic is a reminder to all of us that all wars must end.
    we still have sometime to go but let's all hope that a warless world is what we all strive for.
     
  12. Mercurial

    Mercurial Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2009
    Messages:
    3,451
    Likes Received:
    116
    I thank all of my friends and family and beyond who have served and are currently serving.

    I've got two friends and a family member deployed right now; I cannot wait to have them home, safe and sound, with us for the holidays.
     
  13. Dante Dases

    Dante Dases Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2008
    Messages:
    3,500
    Likes Received:
    262
    Location:
    West Yorkshire, England
    I implore each and every one of you to go to Ypres to witness the closing of the Menin Gate one evening. It's a monument to those who died in the Belgian mud, and every night there's a ceremony involving the playing of the Last Post and the laying of wreathes to honour the dead. I was 17 when I saw it (on a battlefields trip, on the day when the group visited Sanctuary Wood, where the trenches are kept inctact - I still have some pictures from the trip on my Facebook page, if anyone wants to have a look), and it was one of the most poignant things I've ever seen.

    It's also quite something to walk through a war graveyard. I've visited British, American and German war graves, and just seeing the sheer number of white stones standing against a green background, in a perfectly maintained English garden (for British graves, at least) serves as a testament for why these men died. Each of the graveyards is a little bit of each soldier's home country. And then there are the engraved names of the dead whose bodies were never recovered. It's a powerful experience and one I'm proud to say I've had. I always think back to those few days in France and Belgium on this day, and exactly why we remember the sacrifices those men made.
     
  14. Fullmetal Xeno

    Fullmetal Xeno Protector of Literature Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2011
    Messages:
    1,361
    Likes Received:
    142
    Location:
    Kingdom of Austniad
    Im so thankful for all the soldiers who fought and are still fighting today for our freedom. God Bless our Soldiers!
     
  15. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2008
    Messages:
    2,604
    Likes Received:
    151
    Location:
    the shadow of the velvet fortress
    Thank you for this thread Banzai.
    In Turkey we have a similar day in April when we come together with the Anzaks to remember the Çanakkale Campaign (Gallipoli). Next year it'll be the 97th anniversary. My grandmother's cousin (born in Perth) and my Turkish husband's great (or great-great? not sure) uncle (born in Thessalonika) are both buried there.
    Respect for their duty and sacrifice.
     
  16. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2009
    Messages:
    12,140
    Likes Received:
    257
    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Thank you so much to all the veterans that have served to make our countries what they are. Both my grandfathers served in Vietnam, and I had the honor a few years ago to go to Arlington National Cemetery and see the Changing of the Guard. Beautiful and solemn.
     
  17. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2007
    Messages:
    12,834
    Likes Received:
    151
    Location:
    Reading, UK
    I'm watching the BBC's coverage of the Remembrance Sunday ceremonies (for those of different cultures, Remembrance Day is always 11th November, and Remembrance Sunday is the nearest Sunday- it features services of remembrance at churches across the country, as well as parades and wreath laying ceremonies, including a huge one at the London Cenotaph attended by the Queen and royal family). They've cut together the live footage of the band playing at the cenotaph with interviews with the families of soldiers who have died in the last year in Afghanistan. So moving.

    Lest we forget.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice