[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]Well, today is Remembrance Day in Canada (Veterans' Day in the U.S.) and since I had a grandpa in the 2nd world war and my dad was in the military for 25 years, it's a big day! Especially difficult, is remembering those who we have lost in the past year.
When I was a kid, Remembrance Day always moved me but not as much as it does now. Back then I knew that we had men and women overseas but they were always in more of a peace keeping role, not running around in the middle of urban warfare. Canadian military went in to clean up after the war and try and help put the war ravaged country back together. The Remembrance Day ceremonies were a lot different too. There were more veterans at the ceremonies then and there were a few air or sea cadet regiments and if there was a base nearby, there would also be some current military. I remember feeling strangely detached. Most of the veterans were my grandpa's age and I didn't really relate, I just knew that our freedom was important and we had the veterans to thank for it.
Now the veterans among us are getting fewer and fewer as time goes by but the show of current military at these ceremonies is much greater. I believe that we all relate a lot more because we know that there are many men and women out there fighting for our freedom right now, 9/11 also woke us up to realize how important our military is and war has been brought right into our living rooms since they started broadcasting live images of war on television and the internet. It has all been brought so much closer to home and most of us have been touched in some way.
My grandfather didn't talk a whole lot about what happened to him during the war but from what I have put together, this is what I do know. He was a teenager when he went overseas. He was nicknamed "Horizontal McCauley" because he slept all the time, even in the trenches! We used to joke around saying because he slept so much, that was how he made it through the war. He told us that he was the only one who survived in his regiment of about 30 men and so he stopped making friends because he didn't know whether they would survive. He remembered laying awake at night and hearing men screaming because they were hurt or dying and no one could help them. He told me a story once about him and another guy taking turns carrying a fellow soldier about 30 miles by piggyback because he had no legs and the blood from that incident still being on his uniform after the war was over.
When my grandfather was caught, he was hiding up in a tree and a German soldier came up behind him and caught him. He was stuck in a P.O.W. (prisoner of war) camp for the last part of the war. He told me that the prisoners were treated better than the guards because of the laws during war, the opposing side had to treat their prisoners well during capture or they would be charged with war crimes. He said that he and the other prisoners felt sorry for the guards and sometimes even shared their food with them because they were starving. The food they were sharing was not the greatest either, stale bread, rotting potatoes, some sort of mush and water. When grandpa left for war he was just over 200lbs., when he came home he was just over 100lbs.
Grandpa passed away about 7 yrs. ago. They buried him in his uniform. I will always remember what he went through at such a young age, as did many other members of our military.
We need to remember what our military has done for us in the past as well as the present. Their service is so important. They fought for freedom yesterday and are still fighting today. We will always be thankful.
As part of Remembrance Day, we wear poppies in Canada. The history of the poppy flower is an interesting one. I found this article and wanted to share it with you.
The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grows in great numbers but also from the blood red of the dead soldiers who lay on the otherwise barren grounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead World War 1 soldiers.
In Canada, poppies are distributed by the Royal Canadian Legion each fall prior to Remembrance Day. Poppies stand as a prominent feature of "In Flanders Fields", one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed by front-line personnel during the First World War. It was written by John McCrae, a doctor serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.
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
And that's just my point.
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Now the veterans among us are getting fewer and fewer as time goes by but the show of current military at these ceremonies is much greater. I believe that we all relate a lot more because we know that there are many men and women out there fighting for our freedom right now, 9/11 also woke us up to realize how important our military is and war has been brought right into our living rooms since they started broadcasting live images of war on television and the internet. It has all been brought so much closer to home and most of us have been touched in some way.
My grandfather didn't talk a whole lot about what happened to him during the war but from what I have put together, this is what I do know. He was a teenager when he went overseas. He was nicknamed "Horizontal McCauley" because he slept all the time, even in the trenches! We used to joke around saying because he slept so much, that was how he made it through the war. He told us that he was the only one who survived in his regiment of about 30 men and so he stopped making friends because he didn't know whether they would survive. He remembered laying awake at night and hearing men screaming because they were hurt or dying and no one could help them. He told me a story once about him and another guy taking turns carrying a fellow soldier about 30 miles by piggyback because he had no legs and the blood from that incident still being on his uniform after the war was over.
When my grandfather was caught, he was hiding up in a tree and a German soldier came up behind him and caught him. He was stuck in a P.O.W. (prisoner of war) camp for the last part of the war. He told me that the prisoners were treated better than the guards because of the laws during war, the opposing side had to treat their prisoners well during capture or they would be charged with war crimes. He said that he and the other prisoners felt sorry for the guards and sometimes even shared their food with them because they were starving. The food they were sharing was not the greatest either, stale bread, rotting potatoes, some sort of mush and water. When grandpa left for war he was just over 200lbs., when he came home he was just over 100lbs.
Grandpa passed away about 7 yrs. ago. They buried him in his uniform. I will always remember what he went through at such a young age, as did many other members of our military.
We need to remember what our military has done for us in the past as well as the present. Their service is so important. They fought for freedom yesterday and are still fighting today. We will always be thankful.
As part of Remembrance Day, we wear poppies in Canada. The history of the poppy flower is an interesting one. I found this article and wanted to share it with you.
The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grows in great numbers but also from the blood red of the dead soldiers who lay on the otherwise barren grounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead World War 1 soldiers.
In Canada, poppies are distributed by the Royal Canadian Legion each fall prior to Remembrance Day. Poppies stand as a prominent feature of "In Flanders Fields", one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed by front-line personnel during the First World War. It was written by John McCrae, a doctor serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.
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
And that's just my point.
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