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--- Lest We Forget (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=2206)
Posted by Madilayn on 11-11-2008 at 06:25:
Lest We Forget
Remember - November 11 is Rememberence Day.
This is the day where we remember all of those who have fought in wars to protect the freedom we take for granted.
The day - 11 November - was originally Armistace Day, celebrating the end of World War 1. After World War II, it was agreed throughout the world to extend the rememberance to all conflicts.
In Australia, we remember those who have given the supreme sacrifice for their Country by The Ode.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
The Ode is a verse from a poem called "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon. In Australia and New Zealand, The Ode is carved on War Memorials and is recited on both Anzac and Rememberence Day Ceremonies.
To read the full poem, visit here
For a fandom that loves a fighting team, a fandom where one of the main characters died for his team, it is doubly important that we, as a fandom, honour those who defend us.
I hate war - but revere those of our soldiers who go to work each day knowing that they may be asked to die in their line of duty.
For a history of Rememberane Day, visit here
Lest We Forget. Rememberance Day 11/11
__________________
"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart
Posted by shamrokchick on 11-11-2008 at 07:14:
Here in the U.S. it's called Veteran's Day. With all the election stuff that's been going on, it's gotten lost...
Thanks for the reminder!!!
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"They say the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg, but that must have been Galactor's fault too." 
Posted by SJ_SwanJun on 11-11-2008 at 10:35:
November 11 is as important to me as April 25th is.
I may not be in Australia anymore, but that date is still extremely important to me...
I know that I won't hear the Last Post being played on the radio today as we are asked to bow our heads in silence (it seems that it is forgotten in the Corporate world), but know that I will think, remember and respect those who died for our freedoms for much longer than a solitary 60 seconds today ...
I will add a favourite peom of mine to this threat.
This was written in May of 1915 by a Canadian Soldier in response to a brave death of one of his former students -- and a friend.
In Flander's 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 Flander's 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, tho poppies grow
In Flander's fields.
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-191
Canadian Army
SJ
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Why do men snore when lying on their backs?
Because their balls fall over their butt holes and they vapour lock.
Posted by lborgia88 on 11-11-2008 at 14:26:
That poem does mean a lot in Canada, doesn't it? Thanks for posting it. I can, to this day, pretty much recite it from memory and so can my sister.
For the soldiers...
Posted by clouddancer on 11-11-2008 at 15:25:
We just had a Ceremony in school, Last Post and everything.
I always get a tear in my eye when I hear that. For some reason this year, while listening to Last Post, I wondered how the Team would react to Remembrance/ Veteran's Day.
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Posted by lborgia88 on 11-11-2008 at 22:23:
Apparently my brother, who is finishing up a two week leave at home near Ottawa and returning to Afghanistan tonight, went to the ceremony today at his middle daughter's school in his full dress uniform, at her request. In a very fitting note, school is named after John McCrae.
Posted by clouddancer on 11-11-2008 at 22:29:
LB, my prayers go out to you and your brother.
This year we had no one in uniform attend our service. Usually we have a Vet, who attended our school as a child, come and play last post. This year being the 90th anniversary he had other commitments at the time our service was being held.
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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by lborgia88 on 12-11-2008 at 15:09:
Thanks, CD. My brother's job over there is something to do with coordinating the aviation side of things, and I don't think he leaves the base very often, so he should be okay. He says it's much better in Kandahar now than it was in the summer, as the weather is cooler.
I hope your school gets its Vet back next year!
Posted by gogirl212 on 12-11-2008 at 15:38:
Thank you for posting the poem, lb. I am not Canadian, but I know it too. It is famous around the world.
When I was young girl, on Veterans Day in the US many VFW posts (Veterans of Foreign Wars) sent their members to street corners with a bucket of plastic poppies. They sell them to you as you stop at the intersection for whatever donation you care to make. You put the poppy on your rearview mirror and it stays there all year until you buy a new one on the next Veterans day. My Dad always bought one.
Until recently, I lived my entire adult life in a major city without a car and I don't know if the tradition still exists in the smaller towns like the one I grew up in.
I am glad we took a moment to remember this day - Sharockchick is right, it has gotten lost this year in the midst of the US election.
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There are few problems that a swift kick to the head by a highly trained ninja can't solve.
Posted by clouddancer on 12-11-2008 at 16:08:
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Today here in Ontario you can find a box with poppies in it, that you can buy to wear, in most stores. They are sold by the legion. The poppies are then asked to be returned after the 11:00 service - something to do with "disrespect" to wear them after that time. But I do not understand this fact completely, if I am always displaying it to show I remember. Perhaps because many people were displaying poppies but not really "remembering" does that make sense?
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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by shamrokchick on 12-11-2008 at 16:17:
The most "general" picture I've found for this year...
I didn't see any poppies around here, but I had class yesterday so I wasn't out and about.
Also, thanks for sharing the poems. They are beautiful.
__________________
"They say the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg, but that must have been Galactor's fault too."
Posted by clouddancer on 12-11-2008 at 22:08:
After SJ's rant the other day about some one disturbing her when she was giving her "moment" of silence to Remember. I thought of this Clip which we showed during our Service.
The story behind this song goes like this:
On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time".
Enjoy....
A Pittance of Time
__________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by Hinotori on 12-11-2008 at 22:45:
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I remember that too, GoGirl. Sadly, I haven't seen the plastic poppies in a while... I'm hoping it's only because I personally haven't been witness to the fundraiser of late and not because it's becoming a forgotten tradition.
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Hinotori
Eagle in Charge
Posted by lborgia88 on 12-11-2008 at 23:27:
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I was in Nova Scotia in October of '98 and I bought a poppy pin from some veterans at a mall, and when I wasn't using it in successive Novembers, I kept it pinned on the visor inside my car. I still have it, although ten years and exposure to sun have taken their toll on it. Next year, I will get a new one.
Posted by lborgia88 on 12-11-2008 at 23:29:
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Thanks for posting this, CD. I'd never heard this song before.
Posted by clouddancer on 12-11-2008 at 23:36:
I hadn't either but it really touched my heart and I love listening to it now.
__________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
Posted by Madilayn on 13-11-2008 at 06:05:
For both Rememberance Day and Anzac Day (25 April), we have serving soldiers on most street corners in the City selling poppies for a few days before hand, and usually in the major shopping centres (like a Mall for my US friends....) on the day and the weekend beforehand.
Never heard about the disrespect for them being worn after 11am - over here we wear them all day.
There are some very nice enamelled badges out now that a lot of people wear all year round.
__________________
"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart
Posted by Ladygalactor777 on 13-11-2008 at 20:25:
Veteran... Galactor salutes You! 
__________________
Posted by lborgia88 on 13-11-2008 at 20:41:
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Was April 25th selected as ANZAC day because of the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War?
I first saw Peter Weir's film, "Gallipoli," many years ago, and to this day, I haven't seen another film with an ending that tragic and powerful.
Posted by Madilayn on 14-11-2008 at 10:37:
Yup. April 25 was the day of the Gallipoli landing in WW1.
Interestingly enough, though, more Australians were killed on the Somme and the rest of the Western Front than were killed at Gallipoli.
Another (not so nice) piece of trivia - more soliders were killed in WW1 than in any other war.....
__________________
"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart
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