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With Rememberance day approaching this Sunday the 8th November I thought it

might  be nice to do a tribute to the fallen in wars both past and present 

I have no connections to the past wars but do have in present times Family that

actively served and returned safely and a Family member off again soon for a second  tour  

God Bless Them All    and very special thoughts to ALL the fallen  and

their surviving families  

This video is circulating by many Celebrities as a "Honour our Troops " I thought I

would post it here 


Replies sorted oldest to newest

I found the video incredibly moving and terribly sad at the loss of all those young lives. Thank you for posting it Mrs H.

Hubby and one of his brothers served in the forces and father-in-law was a Royal Marine and served in WW2. We support our troops, even if we don`t always agree with the politics behind some conflicts.
Yogi19
I posted this in a thread the other day, but I am a creature of habit.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

Poppies [ÂĐgreatwar.co.uk)

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.

FM
Thank you for that link - so touching and so young so many of those faces were.

In the '80's, I was seeing a soldier when he was sent to Northern Ireland for a six month duty, it was six months of hell, worrying when ever the phone rang it would be his mum to say the worst had happened.  In the end, being young and selfish I couldn't cope and broke the relationship off, at the end of his spell of duty, I just couldn't handle it.  So my heart goes out to all families who have sons, fathers husbands, partners out in Afghanistan at the moment.

We should never forget and show our respect for the brave servicemen/women at this time of year and at any other time of the year.

Please take a look at this website and see if you can help in any way.

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/
â™ĨPinkBabe1966â™ĨThe Angel under the tree!

WEAR A POPPY.

"Please wear a poppy," the lady said
And held one forth, but I shook my head.
Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,
And her face was old and lined with care;
But beneath the scars the years had made
There remained a smile that refused to fade.

A boy came whistling down the street,
Bouncing along on care-free feet.
His smile was full of joy and fun,
"Lady," said he, "may I have one?"
When she's pinned in on he turned to say,
"Why do we wear a poppy today?"

The lady smiled in her wistful way
And answered, "This is Remembrance Day,
And the poppy there is the symbol for
The gallant men who died in war.
And because they did, you and I are free -
That's why we wear a poppy, you see.

"I had a boy about your size,
With golden hair and big blue eyes.
He loved to play and jump and shout,
Free as a bird he would race about.
As the years went by he learned and grew
and became a man - as you will, too.

"He was fine and strong, with a boyish smile,
But he'd seemed with us such a little while
When war broke out and he went away.
I still remember his face that day
When he smiled at me and said, Goodbye,
I'll be back soon, Mom, so please don't cry.

"But the war went on and he had to stay,
And all I could do was wait and pray.
His letters told of the awful fight,
(I can see it still in my dreams at night),
With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire,
And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.

"Till at last, at last, the war was won -
And that's why we wear a poppy son."
The small boy turned as if to go,
Then said, "Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know.
That sure did sound like an awful fight,
But your son - did he come back all right?"

A tear rolled down each faded check;
She shook her head, but didn't speak.
I slunk away in a sort of shame,
And if you were me you'd have done the same;
For our thanks, in giving, if oft delayed,
Thought our freedom was bought - and thousands paid!

And so when we see a poppy worn,
Let us reflect on the burden borne,
By those who gave their very all
When asked to answer their country's call
That we at home in peace might live.
Then wear a poppy! Remember - and give!

~~By Don Crawford.~~


 

MrsH
Reference:
We support our troops, even if we don`t always agree with the politics behind some conflicts

well said


Got this in an e-mail today:-


THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell.'

Author Unknown~
FM

Remembrance Day 

Remembrance Day is here again,
On this day we remember all those who were slain.
The ones they left behind have endured much sorrow and pain.
But rest assured,
the whole world knows those brave ones didn't die in vain.

The poppies that you see people wear,
Are there to show you they still care.
We open our hearts so that we can share,
A moment of silence, and offer a prayer.

To all the soldiers who died saving our country.

~~By Patti Joyce.~~


 

MrsH
Reference:
To all the soldiers who died saving our country.
You've fallen for the hegemony.  The poppy fund was set up after the Great War to commemorate the victims and to help the survivors.  That war wasn't fought to protect the freedom of future generations or to fight looming fascism or to save the country from invaders, it was to protect the status quo for the great imperial powers of the time.  Soldiers were expendable and slaughtered wholesale, being forced at times to walk into machine gun fire by the hundred or risk being shot by officers behind their ranks.  It wasn't a 'just' war.  If anything, people should be wearing poppies to shout "Not in my name!" at politicans.  If you want to take a sharp, critical look at what's going on then look at how those poor people are remembered.  They're remembered in relation to the patriotic cause and for country, not for themselves as individuals: the whole world knows those brave ones didn't die in vain, etc.  Siegfried Sassoon captures it all very poignantly in his poetry ... and his famous soldiers declaration.

http://www.counterpunch.org/sassoon12112003.html



You love us when we're heroes, home on leave,

Or wounded in a mentionable place.

You worship decorations; you believe

That chivalry redeems the war's disgrace.



You make us shells. You listen with delight,

By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.

You crown our distant ardours while we fight,

And mourn our laurelled memories when we're killed.



You can't believe that British troops "retire"

When hell's last horror breaks them, and they run,

rampling the terrible corpses - blind with blood.



German mother dreaming by the fire,

While you are knitting socks to send your son

His face is trodden deeper in the mud.
FM
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Lordy, I see the Daily Mail is promoting Poppy Fascism to the hilt now.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/spo...n-honour-heroes.html

"Two more Premier League clubs bowed to Poppy pressure yesterday, making a total of 17 top-flight teams who will embroider the British Legion emblem on their match-day shirts to mark Remembrance Sunday. [...] That leaves only three in the Premier League — Manchester United, Liverpool and Bolton who will play at the weekend without a poppy on their shirts in stubborn defiance of public opinion. [...] Charles Sale's Sports Agenda has named and shamed those Premier League clubs whose shirts did not carry the Royal British Legion's poppy emblem this weekend."

It looks like the Poppy Appeal has been well and truly taken over now by pseudo-patriots for their own ends.  It's political correctness for right wingers.
FM
this will make me unpopular but wtf
my grandad did ww1
my dad did ww2
both of them conscripts and both of them in the infantry.
my dad said to me a few years back that he could not understand why people sign up just to kill others,my dads happiest army days were when the war finnished and he was in germany helping to rebuild the place.
so for all the conscripts who died i will think of them.
for all the kids that sign up for money and to see the world then *meh* your choice!
ContessaQ
I remember many years ago taking the train from Compiegne to Amiens and being astounded by the number of cemeteries en route. You just can't get your head around the scale of it all. In recent years I have done a  few bits of research on behalf of friends of my Mum and Dad and visited various WWII war graves. Whilst memories can be painful it is at least pleasing to see that the commision and local Germans ensure that not one blade of grass is out of place. I often wonder if such memorials and graves would be accorded the same reverence here.
Garage Joe

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