Armistice Day

Then of course there was wearing the paper red poppies handed out by Veteran’s groups. The poppies were made by disabled veterans and donations were given to veteran’s organizations.

In later years, I wouldn’t always observe those two minutes of silence exactly at 11:00am on Armistice Day which would be changed to Veteran’s Day after World War II, but I still took time out on the day to remember my nation’s war dead.

These days, Veteran’s Day in the US is similar to Memorial Day (which used to be called Decoration Day). Nonetheless, the day’s historical significance is not lost on its original intent to remember those who had given their lives in the service of our country.

One of the day’s more interesting symbols both in the US and countries like Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand are the red poppies. The poppies significance to Armistice Day was the result of Canadian military physician John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields.” When I was in the seventh grade, we had to keep a notebook with poems we had read and liked. One of the poems I wrote in my notebook was this one.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

In Flanders Fields

By John McCrae, May 1915

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.

The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I; the red color symbolized the bloodshed of that war.

This Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veteran’s Day I take time out again and remember all those brave men and woman who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. And for the men and women of our armed forces serving around the world today, God Bless you all and watch over you to keep you safe and out of harms way and to come home safely to your loved ones and friends.