Saturday, November 11, 2006

Lest We Forget

Royal Canadian Legion PoppyNovember 11th is Remembrance Day. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we pause for two minutes, to remember those who have lost their lives in war and in peace support operations, and to honour those who have served and who continue to serve.

Please take a moment to attend your local Remembrance Day ceremonies. If that's not possible, you can watch the ceremony at the National War Memorial on CBC. At the very least, please pause for two minutes of silence at 11:00.

Also take a moment to reflect on the lines in the poem, 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.

In Flanders Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

From Canoe.ca:
Following is a rundown of Canadian casualties in the wars fought since 1899 and in peacekeeping since 1947. (Figures for the First and Second World Wars include Newfoundland, which at the time was not part of Canada.)

Boer War (1899-1902): 277 killed, 252 wounded of 8,300 who served.

First World War (1914-18): 68,260 killed, 173,000 wounded of about 620,000 who served.

Second World War (1939-1945): 45,615 killed, 54,000 wounded of about 1.1 million who served.

Korean War (1950-53): 516 killed, 1,542 wounded of 27,000 who served.

Gulf War (1990-91): No deaths or injuries.

Afghanistan (2002-): 42 killed.

Peacekeeping (1947-): 116 killed of more than 125,000 who served.

I've written some previous posts on Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week, including entries for the memes Friday Fun and Thursday Thirteen.

She, a fellow Canadian blogger, has written a wonderful post on Remembrance Day. Please visit her site to read what she has to say.

The next time you see a veteran, thank them for all they have done for us and our country.

More resources on Remembrance Day:

13 comments:

Lisa said...

Lest we forget - we too in Australia have lost many men and women who fought so bravely for the lives we have now. Remembering and honouring them is something we must never stop doing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the link. I'm looking forward to tomorrow for so many reasons, not the least of which is that the hubby comes home from Trenton ;)

Teena in Toronto said...

Happy Remembrance Day!

Lynn said...

I have my post for Remembrance Day up too.
My Husband and Son are Canadian Reservists. As Reservists they are homeland security, but Canada's reservists volunteer to be called up for tours of duty with the reg. forces. At least 9 of their troop are in Afghanistan as we speek.

Lazy Daisy said...

Wow, totally love you post. Happy Remembrace day. My daughter took her brownie troop to visit at the Vet's Retirement center. They made cards for them.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful tribute! Happy Veteran's Day to you and hubby.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing the poem. Never read it before.

Cuidado said...

I was at a service this morning ....very moving as is John MaCraes poem.Thanks for sharing the information and links.

Michelle Wiebe said...

I was thinking about you guys overseas serving today. Give your hubby a big pat on the back from me!

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