| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seamus |
Posted - May 26 2002 : 07:37:38 AM
Greetings, Mohicanlanders....
Tomorrow, Monday, May 28 is Memorial Day here in the United States. It is a day to remember those who have served our country, and particularly those who have made the supreme sacrifice. If you don't...or can't... attend the remembrance in your own local area, take a moment in your day to just stop whatever it is that you are doing, bow your head and say a silent prayer of thanks for those who have gone before so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we have.
Those whom I knew personally, or knew of, who made the supreme sacrifice are listed here so that I can remember each one and honor him in my own way as I write this:
Pvt. John Earnest, 7th PA Cavalry, Union Army, US Civil War. Killed in Rome, Georgia, on 13 October 1864 in a charge against Confederate artillery and cavalry. I have 32 letters from John to his father. The research I have done on him and his family makes me feel like I knew him personally. John was the only Union soldier killed in that action.
Lt. Charles Hutchison, US Army, West Point graduate. Killed in Grenada as US forces were disembarking. Charlie was a star basketball player in my hometown, 6'6" tall, on his first assignment after commissioning. He was shot in the head by a sniper as he was disembarking his Company.
Sgt. Carl Stitely, killed in Viet Nam. He was the uncle and namesake of a young man who was in school with my daughter from grade 1 and is one of her best friends.
Pvt. James Rudd, US Army, killed in Viet Nam. Jimmy was a member of my Leaders' Corps at the YMCA in Meadville, PA where I was Director of Physical Education. He was so proud to be in the service, and his death was quite a blow to all of us at the Y.
I am sure everyone who may read this knows someone or knows of someone who did not come home. Please pause and give them thanks for what they did for us all, no matter where in the world we may live..........
Pax..........AYE!
Seamus
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| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Seamus |
Posted - May 29 2002 : 9:02:14 PM
Well said, Huggy!
And thank you so much for the wonderful information you have shared. I had read most of it last year when I was doing research for the address I gave at my old high school town for Memorial Day, and again when I was preparing my remarks for our Veterans' Day...November 11; a speech I gave at the US Penitentiary Staff Memorial at Allenwood, PA last Nov. 9. You are absolutely right when you say, "No matter what one's personal beliefs on war and killing are...the current liberty and way of life we enjoy today is built on the bravery of fallen souls, and it is only right that they are remembered."
Pax AYE!
Seamus
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| Adele |
Posted - May 29 2002 : 4:09:14 PM
(cont from prev post)
Poppies
Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans, although they do not have a fixed price - they rely on donations. The motto of the British Legion is Remember the dead; don't forget the living, and they are campaigners for issues relating to war veterans, especially elderly ones.
The poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would have lain there for years more, but the battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before. The most famous bloom of poppies in the war was in Ypres, a town in Flanders, Belgium, which was crucial to the Allied defence. There were three battles there, but it was the second, which was calamitous to the allies since it heralded the first use of the new chlorine gas the Germans were experimenting with, which brought forth the poppies in greatest abundance, and inspired the Canadian soldier, Major John McCrae, to write his most famous poem. This, in turn, inspired the British Legion to adopt the poppy as their emblem.
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.
John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
The American Moira Michael from Georgia, was the first person to wear a poppy in remembrance. In reply to McCrae's poem, she wrote a poem entitled 'We shall keep the faith' which includes the lines:
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
She bought some poppies, wore one, and sold the others, raising money for ex-servicemen. Her colleague, French YMCA Secretary Madame Guerin, took up the idea and made artificial poppies for war orphans. It caught on.
In November 1921, the British Legion and Austrian Returned Sailor's and Soldier's League sold them for the first time.
© BBC MMII
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I am pleased to say that the observance of the two-minute silence is observed more respectfully than ever before and this year being the 20th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict will be as poignant as ever. At almost 16 years old, I remember vividly the start of this conflict, since my 19 year old boyfriend at the time was in the Army Medical Corps. He was shipped out, assigned to the Royal Engineers, towards the end of the conflict and fortunately returned home safe and sound four months later. No matter what one's personal beliefs on war and killing are...the current liberty and way of life we enjoy today is built on the bravery of fallen souls, and it is only right that they are remembered.
"Never in the field of conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
(Winston Churchill, 20th August, 1940)
HM
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| Adele |
Posted - May 29 2002 : 4:04:47 PM
quote:
Indeed ... 9/11/01 has brought a whole new meaning to this Holiday - as well as to many other things - to a whole new generation[s] that was in sorely in need ...
... and if a good could be seen in that horrible day, that might be it!
Rich
Mohican Press
We have Remembrance Day in Britain which I believe is similar to your Memorial Day. I thought you might be interested in this article from the BBC website....
Remembrance Day - Poppy Day
Many countries have a special day to remember those that fell in their wars; America has Veterans Day, while France has Armistice Day. The British commemorate those who fought, and are still fighting, in wars for their country on Remembrance Day.
The British Remembrance Day is always held on the 11 November. This is the day that World War One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiègne, Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minute silence in the UK at 11am, every 11 November.
The period of silence was first proposed by a Melbourne journalist, Edward George Honey, in a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919, which subsequently came to the attention of King George V. On 7 November, 1919, the king issued a proclamation which called for a two-minute silence:
All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.
As well as the two-minute silence, there are marches around the country by war veterans. The Royal Family, along with leading politicians, gather at the Cenotaph, a large war memorial in Whitehall, in London.
The nearest Sunday to the 11th is called Remembrance Sunday, when church services are held in honour of those involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the memorials which have a place in every town. Many two-minute silences are followed by a lone bugler playing The Last Post, reminiscent of times of war when trumpets were as much a part of battle as bayonets. A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud on the occasion; the most famous stanza of which reads:
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.
Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
These words can be found adorning many war memorials across the country. The author, Laurence Binyon, was never a soldier but certainly appreciated the horrors of war.
Remembrance day is taken very seriously, with disrespect being avoided at all costs (which is why the vandalisation of the Cenotaph on 1 May 2000 was seen as such a horrific crime). If 11 November falls on a weekday, schools, workplaces and shopping centres generally attempt to observe the silence, although some people choose to ignore their attempts and go about their business regardless.
(cont in next post..)
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| richfed |
Posted - May 27 2002 : 7:41:04 PM
quote:
Yes......Mike Spann is most assuredly to be remembered today, as will all those whom we have lost in Afghanistan and that section of this world since 9/11/01 will be remembered, also, in many small towns, villages and big cities across America. My heart hurts for them and their families, but we all owe them big time.
Indeed ... 9/11/01 has brought a whole new meaning to this Holiday - as well as to many other things - to a whole new generation[s] that was in sorely in need ...
... and if a good could be seen in that horrible day, that might be it!
Rich
Mohican Press |
| Seamus |
Posted - May 27 2002 : 4:18:24 PM
Hi Theresa!
Yes......Mike Spann is most assuredly to be remembered today, as will all those whom we have lost in Afghanistan and that section of this world since 9/11/01 will be remembered, also, in many small towns, villages and big cities across America. My heart hurts for them and their families, but we all owe them big time.
We just returned home from Boalsburg, PA...about an hour and a half or so out the road... the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1864, where we witnessed a very poignant Remembrance Ceremony and the unveiling of a Memorial to the founders of Memorial Day. To be in the same cemetery, at the same site as the first Memorial Day is a thrill! Many Civil War reenactors, men and women, made it seem as though we were really there back then, eavesdropping, as it were. Hard to describe, but believe me, it rolled a tear or two.......
This evening is picnic time at my daughter, Jenny's, and the weather is beautiful! T'is a good way to end this marvelous day!
Pax aye, my friend!
Seamus
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| Theresa |
Posted - May 27 2002 : 07:42:36 AM
Seamus, this is a wonderful way to pay tribute to those who have fallen. I, personnally, do not know anyone who has lost their life defending our freedoms. However, I would like to mention Mike Spann, the CIA agent who was the first casualty of the war on terror in Afghanistan. He is from my home state as well as eight other comrades. There will be a special ceremony today in his memory. He's from a very small town here in Alabama. We honor his and others' memories on this Memorial Day, 2002. Thank you, Seamus.
Theresa
Edited by - Theresa on May 27 2002 07:46:20 AM |
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