Today, the 11th November, I am once more reminded of the horrors of war. The poppy in the header bar on Ice In Space is a powerful, touching symbol – a poignant reminder of the courage and sacrifice of those brave men and women who served, to keep the world free for the generations that followed.
Those that perished, were wounded, saw battle, served and suffered shall not be forgotten and I am forever grateful to those souls, yet so saddened for their loss and suffering.
Remembrance Day has an even greater significance to me this year than in previous years.. over the past year i've been thoroughly immersed in learning about WW1 and WW2 history - reading books, watching DVD's and documentaries.
I couldn't help but notice the single poppy on the header, the first image to load. Rememberance day is a powerful reminder of the futility of war. Those who served and those who perished will never be forgotten.
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 amidst 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.
Many of us have never had to live through the horror of war, and though we pray that our families will never have to know war again it is up to us to make sure that our children, and our children's children, know exactly what happened, and know that so many brave souls gave so much to ensure our freedom, and the way of life we enjoy today.
My son never had the chance to know my father, but he will know that my father, a peace loving man, fought in WW2 (and returned fortunately, else I wouldn't be here myself!) so that his family would know peace, and hopefully would not have to fight any other wars.
Lest We Forget ....... not just words, make it mean something.
G'Day,
Do you think that the people of this planet will ever learn the horror of war,watching 4 corners last night on the ABC brought home again the horror of war,yet we still have them,over what? I lost mates in the Congo Africa in 1960.48 yrs ago and on the ABC news last night,nothing has changed.I was stationed in Goma Africa with the UN forces and saw the horror of what man can do to man.I'll never forget those who died and are still dying.
One way to reduce the chance of war: teach secondary school students case studies of the propaganda used by the ideologically driven few to fool the masses into initiating a war. We are all too easily guided into certain ways of thinking. This relates back to my earlier comment concerning the romance of war. I wonder how many hours of action it takes for the romance to wear off before a soldier would swap the honor/glory/mateship for a good home-cooked meal.
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