Poppy Kilt Pin

[Ian.MacAllan]

In the public news media recently I have seen two articles which stated that Veterans' Day commemorates the treaty that ended WW I. That is NOT true; it commemorates the armistice which ended the fighting at 11:11 AM on November 11, 1918. The treaty which ended the state of war was signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919.

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[thescot]

In the public news media recently I have seen two articles which stated that Veterans' Day commemorates the treaty that ended WW I. That is NOT true; it commemorates the armistice which ended the fighting at 11:11 AM on November 11, 1919. The treaty which ended the state of war was signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919.

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Ah, good point. The cessation of battle is a fine thing, though, when you're being shot at, and the shooting stopped on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:11 AM I believe. That's a good thing to celebrate.

And so we celebreate Veteran's Day on 11/11 now in the U.S. to honor all veterans. It used to be Armistice Day, but, as mentioned earlier, "we" found it expeidient to hit all the vets on on one day. It's less observed than Halloween in our current state of politcal correctness when only "losers" are considered fit to serve in the armed forces.

Memorial Day in the US is when we wear our poppies and commemorate those who gave their lives in combat to protect and preserve our nation. We usually get them from the American Legion, but they aren't as fancy as the British versions I've seen. Memorial Day is on the last Monday in May nowadays.

It was formerly known as Decoration Day because folks would go to the cemeterties to clean up, i.e., decorate the graves of the dead. It probably pre-dates the War Between the States.

I will close with the poem which is, I think, a big reason for the wearing of the poppies. It is by Lt. Col. John McCrae who died in the war.

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.

[Jock Scot]

In the public news media recently I have seen two articles which stated that Veterans' Day commemorates the treaty that ended WW I. That is NOT true; it commemorates the armistice which ended the fighting at 11:11 AM on November 11, 1919. The treaty which ended the state of war was signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919.

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The fighting in WW1 stopped at 1100hrs(actually 11 minutes past I believe) on 11th of November 1918. I am not sure what other countries do, but we in Britain and the Commonwealth should stop what they are doing on 11th of November and have two minutes silence and then on the nearest Sunday(if different) to the 11th of November is Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day as it used to be called.

[thescot]

I understand that the followings is used for Rememrance Day in Canada. It is the French version of the poem. In honor of those brothers on the other side of the border:

Texte français
Au champ d'honneur, les coquelicots
Sont parsemés de lot en lot
Auprès des croix; et dans l'espace
Les alouettes devenues lasses
Mêlent leurs chants au sifflement
Des obusiers.

Nous sommes morts,
Nous qui songions la veille encor'
À nos parents, à nos amis,
C'est nous qui reposons ici,
Au champ d'honneur.

À vous jeunes désabusés,
À vous de porter l'oriflamme
Et de garder au fond de l'âme
Le goût de vivre en liberté.
Acceptez le défi, sinon
Les coquelicots se faneront
Au champ d'honneur.

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

The fighting in WW1 stopped at 1100hrs on 11th of November 1918. I am not sure what other countries do, but we in Britain and the Commonwealth should stop what they are doing on 11th of November and have two minutes silence and then on the nearest Sunday(if different) to the 11th of November is Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day as it used to be called.

It is still called Armistice Day down here, and the 2 mins silence is still well observed, I will be In Sydney, Australia for it next week, so it will be interesting to see if they still observe it and what they call it.

[davedove]

It probably pre-dates the War Between the States.

Just FYI, Memorial Day was started in the aftermath of the Civil War.

[macwilkin]

Ah, good point. The cessation of battle is a fine thing, though, when you're being shot at, and the shooting stopped on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:11 AM I believe. That's a good thing to celebrate.

And so we celebreate Veteran's Day on 11/11 now in the U.S. to honor all veterans. It used to be Armistice Day, but, as mentioned earlier, "we" found it expeidient to hit all the vets on on one day. It's less observed than Halloween in our current state of politcal correctness when only "losers" are considered fit to serve in the armed forces.

Memorial Day in the US is when we wear our poppies and commemorate those who gave their lives in combat to protect and preserve our nation. We usually get them from the American Legion, but they aren't as fancy as the British versions I've seen. Memorial Day is on the last Monday in May nowadays.

It was formerly known as Decoration Day because folks would go to the cemeterties to clean up, i.e., decorate the graves of the dead. It probably pre-dates the War Between the States.

I will close with the poem which is, I think, a big reason for the wearing of the poppies. It is by Lt. Col. John McCrae who died in the war.

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.

Technically though, Memorial Day was established to commemorate the dead of the Civil War. There is a move to restore the holiday to May 30th, as established by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). There are a number communities, Waterloo, New York, and several others in the South that claim to be the site of the original Memorial/Decoration Day, but GAR Commander John Logan generally gets credit for the "official" establishment in 1868

http://www.suvcw.org/logan.htm

http://www.usmemorialday.org/act.html

T.

[English Bloke]

The fighting in WW1 stopped at 1100hrs(actually 11 minutes past I believe) on 11th of November 1918. I am not sure what other countries do, but we in Britain and the Commonwealth should stop what they are doing on 11th of November and have two minutes silence and then on the nearest Sunday(if different) to the 11th of November is Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day as it used to be called.

I'm with you Jock. I'll be stopping silently for 2 minutes at 11:00 on the 11th, as will many, many others I'm sure. We owe too much to ignore it.

Those poppy brooches on the Royal British Legion 'www.poppyshop.org.uk' website are sold out now by the way.

EDIT: Incidentally, I have the good fortune to be able to attend the Anzac Day Service at the Australian National Memorial in Villers Bretonneux in France on 25 April next year. I'll be there with an Aussie mate of mine who is in the Australian Army. I'll get back to you all with a report after the fact.

[NewGuise]

I have the good fortune to be able to attend the Anzac Day Service at the Australian National Memorial in Villers Bretonneux in France on 25 April next year.

Excellent. I cycled up to the memorial from my rented boat on the Somme canal this past summer, through wind and rain and heavy traffic, and still thought the place was lovely.

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

And so we celebrate Veteran's Day on 11/11 now in the U.S. to honor all veterans. It used to be Armistice Day, but, as mentioned earlier, "we" found it expedient to hit all the vets on on one day. It's less observed than Halloween in our current state of politcal correctness when only "losers" are considered fit to serve in the armed forces.
[/I]

For this Hamurican, maybe less than Halloween, but still observed, and heroes still serve.

The high school in my little Ozarks town always has a Veteran's Day Assembly. It is put on by their music and speech departments and a reception follows. They invite all veterans and their families as honored guests. The kids are respectful and sincere in their appreciation. The principal says this is their most important assembly of the year.

In past years, I have sat in that assembly with men who went ashore on Omaha Beach, endured the Bataan death march, and survived the hell of Pearl Harbor. I felt awed to be in their presence. Those are my heroes.