Thursday, November 11, 2010

Armistice Day November 11, 1918

When the world remembers the end of WWI.

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.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

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.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)
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.

Lest We Forget.

To read more about Australia's participation in war and peacekeeping, please visit the Australian War Memorial site.

Update:



Update II:
See Anzac Day here. With the last sight of Australia by troops deployed to the European Theatre of WWI. I particularly love the statue brought back to Australia from Port Said which is now situated near Albany, WA, overlooking King George Sound. For many Aussie soldiers their last sight of Australia ever.

11 comments:

Merilyn said...

Lest we forget. Amen

Anonymous said...

Hi kae I'm just listening to AB and hear that the Vicroads offices will not observe because it may offend some employees!

Unbelievable?

LouMac

Wand said...

Thanks for placing this post Kae.. In Flanders Fields (h/t song from Bolta - most moving)

stackja1945 said...

http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/2/chapters/03.pdf
THE “A.I.F.”
THE scheme for the Australian Imperial Force was completed by General Bridges and Major White on August 8th. The force was to be drawn, as far as possible, from men who had undergone some training: half of them were to be men then serving in the citizen army of Australia-mainly youngsters in their twentieth year and upwards; the other half were to be men not then in the forces, but who had once been in the militia or had served in the South African or other wars. The units were to be connected with the different States in Australia; they were to be definitely local and territorial. This principle, laid down from the first, was of necessity after- wards abandoned in the case of special arms, such as the artillery, the army medical corps, and the engineers, but the infantry battalions and light horse regiments continued to be recruited from their own States throughout the war. The two most populous States of Australia were New South Wales and Victoria. Each of these covered less than the huge average area of an Australian State, but if the popula- tion of Australia had been divided by three, New South Wales would have had rather more than a third and Victoria rather less; the four other States would have made up the remaining third between them. An infantry division (the smallest infantry force which is complete with guns, ambulances, transport, etc.) consisted of three infantry brigades together with all the attendant arms. It was accordingly decided that New South Wales should furnish the 1st Infantry Brigade (consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd. and 4th Australian Battalions, each 1,023 strong) ; Victoria the 2nd Infantry Brigade (consisting of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Battalions) ; and the remaining four States the 3rd Brigade. The four less populous States-Queensland, South Australia. Western Australia, and Tasmania-were commonly looked upon as the “rural” States of the Commonwealth. In Victoria and New South Wales nearly half the population lived in two disproportionately large cities, Melbourne and Sydney.

Glenn Mark Cassel said...

A hug of thanks to you Kae.

Anonymous said...

Thank you and yours for helping my Countrymen and family, Kae!

John Waggy said...

Thank you so much from a WW2 veteran. I can't tell you how much it meant to me. From all my buddies and relatives from WW2 I am the only one left. The last one died a month ago.

kae said...

Hi John!
Welcome!!
Pleased to see you found out how to post on here!
I hope you have been well... I have wondered how you are going.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kae,

Just got back from aweekend down with my daughter nd family. They live down in Carlsbad a city just north of San Diego. My other daughter went with me and did the driving. It is a thousand miles round trip.

I love for you to come up here. I would show you aroung the western part of US. However, you would have to do the driving.

John W said...

Above
not Anonymous John

kae said...

Hi John
I thought it might be you!
I think it would be amazing to see Carlsbad Caverns!