11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour . . . (1 Viewer)

[Dave Hahn]

Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day is a day to remember those who fought and those who are fighting. It has been a tradition in my town to pay homage by reading Rudyard Kipling's hymn, God of our Fathers, Known of Old, more popularly known as Lest We Forget.

GOD OF OUR FATHERS
by Rudyard Kipling
(June 22, 1897)

God of our fathers, known of old,
Lord of our far-flung battle-line,
Beneath whose awful Hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard,
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,
For frantic boast and foolish word —
Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord!

 

[ChristopherDAC]

I believe that particular poem is best known by its title: Recessional. The occasion, if I am not terribly mistaken, was the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, under whose reign the British Empire had achieved its greatest extent, and the flaws which were eventually to destroy it had begun to show.

It is more than worthwhile to pause and reflect upon the end of what had begun as a criminal investigation in Bosnia and grew into the most fantastic and terrible military endeavour of all time, the leaguer of an entire continent. For some reason, the description which sticks in my head is that of a War correspondent's last dispatch from the Front, late in the afternoon of the Eleventh: "The balloons are down, all along the Line."

 

[Richard Travale]

and for my fellow Canadians...

"In Flander's Fields"
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

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.

Here in Canada we call it Remembrance Day.

 

[BrianW]

Thanks, guys.


May we never forget.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Amen.

 

[Blu]

For all of those who gave all.

 

[James T]

That's a great poem. I think it was the first poem I ever memorized as a kid. I also love the idea of how it's written on the currency as a remembrance.