Today 9th November 2014 - Two occasions to think of

[joninliverton]

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Here are a few articles worth reading.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29974950

And Gorbachev's warning of a new cold war.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29966852

-----------------

Whilst the world celebrates in Berlin there is a very sombre mood in Britain and the Commonwealth as we commemorate those who died in military operations over the years. I have watched the Remembrance Day parades for as long as I can remember and today's was special as it is 100 years since the start of WWI. Also there was a real threat that terrorists were going to target the Queen but she stood her ground and attended as normal. She is such a great lady.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29974771

 

[joninliverton]

 

[Ambivalent]

Jon,

All very moving, and very true. And an important reminder, as we prepare for the vigil of Remembrance Day. As I have probably told you, my sister and I regularly sang carols on Christmas Eve, for the boys (and girls) going over to Afghanistan, in the Canadian Armed Forces chapel where my sister was music-director - and looking into the eyes of those kids, I wondered at the terrors they would face. None of them perfect, I am sure (as none of us is): but all such brave, and decent young people.

And yes, for all who know her, and who have grown up during her long reign, Her Majesty has indeed been a great exemplar, and model, and a reminder of the traditions and values we all of us, in the Commonwealth, hold dear.

Of course, I offer all prayers, for all the service-men and -women, who are now overseas, on this Remembrance Sunday. And for the families of those who have been lost, in service. I attach for you, a fine and very fitting tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, offered at the Festival of Remembrance, 2008. I hope that we shall all wear our poppies, in love and remembrance, this year.

"A" XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 

[peterh6308]

Your Rememberence Day I think is like Americas Memorial Day. We also have Veterans day coming up this Tuesday to honor living soldiers who served in the military.

 

[joninliverton]

Your Rememberence Day I think is like Americas Memorial Day. We also have Veterans day coming up this Tuesday to honor living soldiers who served in the military.

Yes Peter, this Tuesday is Armistice Day and a two minute silence starts at 1100am on the 11th day of the 11th month.

[h=3]Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day[/h]World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
[h=3]Tomb of the Unknowns[/h]Official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day center around the Tomb of the Unknowns.
To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, the 3d U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.
At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes "Present Arms" at the tomb. The nation's tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath and the playing of "Taps."
[h=3][/h]

Read more: Veterans Day | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/veteransday1.html#ixzz3IakUeUrr

 

[Ambivalent]

Your Rememberence Day I think is like Americas Memorial Day. We also have Veterans day coming up this Tuesday to honor living soldiers who served in the military.

************************************************** *****

Hey, Peter,

In the U.K. and Commonwealth countries, Remembrance Day (November 11) is the day when we honour our veterans - both those who have made the supreme sacrifice, but also (in many nations of the Commonwealth) all those other service-men and -women who have sacrificed in war, and continue to do so. In the U.K., many public observances take place on "Remembrance Sunday", the Sunday nearest to November 11. "Remembrance Sunday" is also observed in Anglican churches in Canada and other Commonwealth countries, but in Canada, official observance on the part of government takes place exclusively on November 11, itself.

The date of Remembrance Day was chosen to mark the Armistice of the Great War (in the course of which an estimated one million men, or more, from the Commonwealth died): the Armistice having been sounded at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918. So yes, it is like Memorial Day (with its roots in the Civil War, which was such a great tragedy for America): because, for the British Commonwealth, the Great War was the catastrophe that decimated a generation - only to be followed by World War II, and even more suffering.

Our great poem of remembrance was written in the trenches by a Canadian physician and soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, of Guelph, Ontario, after the death of his best friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, at the Second Battle of Ypres. It is remembered all around the Commonwealth, on Remembrance Day: and often quoted on Memorial Day observances, as well.

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.

 

[louis33705]

I am a Veteran of the Viet Nam war. My Father was a Veteran of WWII. While I was still working at the college where I retired, I was often asked to give the eulogy at the memorial service in the chapel.

This is a special day for me as well as for my Dad's service.

 

[joninliverton]

This is a great song - it's not about the war but about friendship.. Guess a lot of friends never came back

 

[juanjo]

In honor of my father who has been gone now for lmost two years. A veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KCiMdR1ox0

 

[juanjo]

And for our friends across the pond, two nations separated by a common language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KCiMdR1ox0