Lest we forget

[Wulfran]

In Flanders Fields
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.
-John McCrae (1872-1918)

This was a poem written by Canadian medical corpsman John McCrae in the First World War. Mr McCrae, like so many did not survive that war.

On November 11th, please take a moment and remember those who fought and those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy.

[Sylvus]

Thank you, veterans!

[Shaerra]

Thanks to all the folks who are currently serving the United States of America, and to all of the folks in the past who gave their lives in service!

[Diae Soulmender]

Your welcome.

Gulf War - 3 tours '90-'92.

[noel]

Veterans Day Speech I like quite a bit, written by an actual veteran of WWII who I know personally. It was presented at a religious function, but try to read past that if it bothers you (I did ). I would ask that if you choose to comment on anything in the speech you remember that it is the lawmakers and policymakers who are to blame for the failures in our foreign policies, not the veterans and active duty soldiers (I'm personally not in full agreement about the homeless vets, but that's just me). Without further ado:

I ask that you close your eyes for a moment and come back with me in time, as you picture in your mind, the soldier, during that bitter winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, as he holds his musket in his bloody, frost-bitten hands---starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and forever emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family, surrounded by nothing but death and the carnage of war. Still--he stands tough, with fire in his eyes and victory on his breath.

He looks at us now, in anger and disgust, and tells us this----- I gave you a birthright of freedom, born in the Constitution, and now, many of your children graduate, too illiterate to read it I fought barefoot in the snow to give you the freedom to vote---and you stay home---because it rains I left my family destitute to give you freedom of speech, and you remain silent on critical moral and political issues I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you, and democracy is being allowed to slip away from the people NEVER FORGET!

It is the soldier, NOT the reporter, who gives you the freedom of the press

It is the soldier, NOT the politician, who gives you the freedom of speech

It is the soldier, NOT the campus organizer, who allows you to protest and demonstrate

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag--serves the flag--whose coffin is draped with the flag----that allows the protester to burn the flag.

To commemorate Veteran’s Day on Tuesday, November 11th, we pause today, to honor our Veterans, many, who are survivors of bitter conflicts. Each one, has had his own Valley Forge, during World Wars 1 and II and since then in places like Korea, Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Mogadishu, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and twice now, in the Persian Gulf. They ask nothing more, than to share in their hard won freedoms and be given the respect they have earned.

Next year, will be the 50th anniversary of Veterans Day. Begun by a shoe-maker named Alvin King, who never served in our Armed Forces, to honor all those who did, in the small town of Emporia, Kansas. The celebration proved to be such a success that the following spring, U.S. representative, Ed Rees of Emporia, introduced legislation in Congress, to change WW1 Armistice Day, to Veteran’s Day, for all America. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation on October 8th, 1954, that stated---“On that day, let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the sea, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom”---This, is the Genesis of Veteran’s Day.

The word “Veteran”, has little impact or meaning unless you fully understand how they came by that title and what horrific encounters were required to wear that label. Your mind is forever scarred by the experience of having your best friend alongside you, lose his legs to a land mine while you continue on, unscathed. That will return to haunt you--over and over, during your quiet moments--forever.

President Abe Lincoln, laid it all out for us on the back of an envelope as he traveled by train to Gettysburg on November 19th, 1863, just about 140 years ago, during the Civil War that ripped apart this great nation, killing more American sons than any other in our history. These, are his, now famous, words----“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great
battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."-----There are several more lines to his original address but in spite of the fact his eloquent words live on, the world has almost forgotten the sacrifices of thousands of brave men who fought and died or who have returned, forever physically or mentally crippled, to ensure us the freedoms we are so prone to take for granted as our rights---they are NOT,--they are privileges----to be safeguarded by every means available to us.

You have all seen them, gaunt and disheveled, with signs saying “Homeless Veteran--Please Help----God Bless”. They have been forced to join yet another Army, the growing host of destitute, abandoned Veterans, forced out on the streets by economic constraints that have closed many veteran’s facilities and mental hospitals. An example of that, is just down the road at Crownsville State Hospital---much of it empty now and those with wounds you can’t see, wounds of the mind, have nowhere else to turn. Americans, in general, have an aversion to unkempt people who are able to stand with a sign and beg, privately thinking, “get a job”. Many, would like nothing better but due to conditions resulting from military service, simply cannot handle the stress. Jeff (church choir director) can tell you first-hand, of a good friend who was subjected to nerve gas, the politically correct diagnosis though is “Gulf War Syndrome” who has lost all we hold dear---health, family, job, home and many friends--thus far have been denied desperately needed help from the very organizations established for just such problems. How soon we forget!

Next time the Disabled Veterans of America, send their annual appeal to your house, remember those who have given so much for you,--DIG DOWN----and give a portion back. Let’s bow our heads for just a moment...

“Heavenly Father---We know that nothing can be hidden from you and we older Veterans are showing signs of wear. Some of us only need the extra support of a cane, some have had joints replaced with mechanical parts, some need an occasional sustaining breath of oxygen and some are confined to a wheelchair. We look desperately to our young people to continue Your plan for America and are reminded of a few lines from the poem “In Flanders Fields” that say to them “take up our quarrel with the foe, to you, from failing hands, we throw--the torch---be yours to hold it high”. Whatever our physical condition, we will use our last breath in praise of You and this, the greatest country on earth, you have entrusted to our care. We pray there will always be brave young American men and women, willing and unafraid to stand up for justice and freedom and that You will continue to bless America as You hold our troops in Your loving hands. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us during threatening times. Protect them in far-flung places, as they protect us. We were shown dramatically on September 11th, a small sample of what war might be like on our own turf. Give us the good judgment to treat our veterans, honorably and fairly when they return and reserve a well-earned place of rest for each good soldier---when they finally come home to you.

Thank you for your sincere attention.

[Voronwë]

Aranuil, i dont want to get off on too much of a tangent, but i have a problem with the wording of a portion that speech.

It is not the soldier who GIVES the freedoms in the Bill of Rights.

I understand that the speech is trying to be illustrative, but the wording is false. You can argue that the soldier protects them, but those rights are not granted by the military. The soldiers' powers arise from the same source as the enumerated freedoms, and that is at the grant of "we the people".

That doesnt mean we cannot fully respect the supreme sacrifice these people made and continue to make. ANd i also dont want to degenerate this thread from what it should be, etc.

Great post Wulfran, "Flanders Field" is a great poem.

[noel]

Aranuil, i dont want to get off on too much of a tangent...

No, you're completely correct. No worries.

[Keverian FireCry]

/salute Veteran's

[Kylere]

You are all welcome, and a thanks out to my currently serving and fellow used to be's.

SSG Michael Reed
Yes I was 100 klicks into Iraq and Does Rwanda Count?

[Seebs]

/salute Vetrans.

/mourn Fraternity Brother John Branchizio.

[Shaerra]

Veteran's Day Posters

http://www.appc1.va.gov/vetsday/page.cfm?pg=19