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

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"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

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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Sighhh

Why do men snore when lying on their backs?
Because their balls fall over their butt holes and they vapour lock.

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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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

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.

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.

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.

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"They say the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg, but that must have been Galactor's fault too."

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Hinotori
Eagle in Charge

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.

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"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