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Armistice Day

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

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.

5 responses to “Armistice Day”

  1. In Flanders’ fields the poppies flow,
    Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place, and in the sky.
    The lark, 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.

    Major John McCrae 1915

    • “When you go home, tell them of us and say,
      For their tomorrow we gave our today.”

      John Edmonds 1916

  3. Never had the privilege to shake the hand of my great grandfather, though I had the honor to spend time with his wife, the gift to spend more time with her son, and the blessing to be birthed to his and her grandson. She was a strong Kentucky woman, married to a man who fulfilled his duty, fought under the Brittsh flag, even after Armestice Day, on the side of the Czarist forces, against the reds. My great-grandfather fought, gave his sanity, above the arctic circle, in a little known continuation of the first great war. I don’t even know if his sacrifice amounted to anything more than a sacrifice in the global chess match against liberty, sitting in the great hall, he is the only one who can make that judgement. Shell shock for the remainder of his living days, in and out of institutions, his wife raised 8 children, managed the farm, ensured life was nourished so that my life may be conceived. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Smith, without you, the concept of me, would never have been imagined.