Lest We Forget - three words renown across most countries to show our remembrance of those who have fought, and those who have died fighting for freedom. It means that we will never forget. In Canada, we honour the day by wearing poppies, a flower that bloomed throughout the fields of battle grounds in France and Belgium during World War I. The wearing of the symbol of the poppy was made popular due to the poem, Flanders Field, written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae after witnessing his friend and fellow soldier struck down in the midst of battle in WWI.

Flanders Field
by John McCrae

In Flanders Field 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 Field.

Image courtesy of James Dietz.

I was in a play once; OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, It was about WWI and all the songs were from that war.
The last song sums up the veteran's responce:

AND WHEN THEY ASK US
(Tune: 'They wouldn't believe me')

And when they ask us, how dangerous it was,
Oh, we'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them:

We spent our pay in some cafe,
And fought wild women night and day,
'Twas the cushiest job we ever had.

And when they ask us, and they're certainly going to ask us,
The reason why we didn't win the Croix de Guerre,

Oh, we'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them
There was a front, but damned if we knew where.

Captn Tommy

John, that last image is a 8.4 MB JPEG- as it appears to be a photograph of an image on an LCD monitor, wouldn't a screenshot reduced to 800 px be more suitable?

Another pic

John,
Very appropriate and thought provoking Thread; we tend to forget the downside of the events and people we strive to preserve and replicate.
Hats off to you; in the 100th Anniversary Year it's a fitting gesture and a reminder of those who served in all colours on behalf of their countrymen. A different, and very noble generation.............
Cheers, and well done
Lance

Thank you Lance,as it has been said many times before "there is no glory in war".

I have always felt very close to this subject as my father-in law suffered greatly with PTSD all of his life after WW1.He was wounded many times and and was diagnosed with "shell shock" as it was called in those days.I only recently discovered that after almost 60 years I have had the same problem myself since the age of 19 when I was the only survivor of an aircraft accident in Canada's north land.I never flew again as a co-pilot or passenger after that experience.

It is strange how PTSD can affect you.I have flown thousands of hours since the accident as a flying instructor and even did some test flying, but only as pilot- in- command.Unfortunately for me airlines don't hire captains off the street so that was the end of my career.I am coming out of the closet with this so that it may be of some help to those going through the same experience.There was little understanding years ago for my father in law ,so I feel that I owe him that much to help remove the stigma surrounding his condition and mine as well.

The thousand yard stare,the face of shell shock.

Beyond sadness is this poem,
Captn Tommy

"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." - Laurence Binyon 'For the Fallen' 1914

John, thanks for picking up some rememberance of WW 1. In summer 2012 I visited some battlefields, memorials and cemeteries in Flanders and the Somme region and showed some of the photos here on Aeroscale on last years Armistice Day. If you don't mind, I link the thread here, as you may not have the opportunity to see these places in real.

Torsten

Thank you Torsten.