When You Go Home,
Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow,
We Gave Our Today
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Stephen Brown
November 11, 2010 3:58 pm
The most poignant, eye-misting tune ever.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4&fs=1&hl=en_GB]
John Q Public
November 11, 2010 4:02 pm
Thank you.
Bern Bray
November 11, 2010 4:18 pm
Thank you, although I was never shot at in anger (just by accident).
We buried a friend last year.
He was a Pearl Harbor survivor.
Had another ship sunk under him in the Pacific.
Got his choice of duty after that and chose Naval Air.
Survived 3 airplane crashes without a scratch.
Received the Silver Star and 2 Navy Crosses, as well as other medals.
At the age of 87 he was traveling the world and had a zest for life.
We remember you and love you Fred.
Thank you.
My father was captain of minesweeper HMAS Echuca, Royal Australian Navy. He served from ’39 to ’47. He left a prosperous legal practice to do so, and his lungs suffered long-term damage. He remained RANVR, voluntary reserve, for many years. Never marched or discussed the war.
I’ve done nothing, so my special thanks to all Aussies and allies who have served.
F. Ross
November 11, 2010 7:02 pm
Curiousgeorge says:
November 11, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Through a Glass, Darkly
Thank you for that; great poem!
DesertYote
November 11, 2010 7:23 pm
vigilantfish
November 11, 2010 at 2:19 pm
DesertYote says:
November 11, 2010 at 9:51 am
……
In Flanders Fields always brings tears to my eyes as well. I’ve always found Remembrance Day tremendously solemn. It does us all good to remember the sacrifices made by others.
#
What made WWI “real” for me was visiting Verdun while stationed in Germany as a young man. Me and my buddies visited the Douaumont ossuary first. In a dense morning fog, as we neared, the spire appeared in the sky, brooding like a ghost. It sent a chill down my spine. We were all very quite. In fact we hardly talked all day. I had many other vivid experiences during this trip.
Now, every time I think of poppies, Armistice Day or not, I picture all of thous bayonets sticking out of the ground as if they were planted.
I also had a relative, a great Uncle, shot down over Germany during WWII. He was given a Catholic burial by the local Lutheran towns people. According to the letter my family received, the crew had all parachuted except for my Great Uncle and the Gunner he was trying to free from his harness.
Thanks, Anthony, for remembering. Commendations from the Congressional Medal of Honor. [Click on the particular war in the middle of the page.]
And not to forget the New York firefighters and police, who repeatedly entered the World Trade Center buildings to rescue civilians, until they collapsed: click1 click2 click3 [some average Americans]
And some advice for peacenik RR Kampen, November 11, 2010 at 7:57 am above:
“Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.”
– George Orwell
[~Smokey, Tuy Hoa, Viet Nam, 1966 – 1967]
paulID
November 11, 2010 8:58 pm
”For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”
~Zel Miller
Fijidave:
My Mum was born in August 1919. Conceived Armistice Day. (Grandad had been wounded in one of the last battles.) She once told me she was supposed to have been named “Peace” but her parents decided to call her Frances after the land Grandad fought in. There were lots of Victors, Peaces, and even Anzacs in her generation.
Ken
Darell C. Phillips
November 12, 2010 12:33 am
Thank you, veterans.
david
November 12, 2010 12:40 am
Ancient relation fought at the battle of Stangebro 1598. Got hit in the head by a sword but survived. Being the master of the king’s stables in Stockholm, he was given land by the king as a reward for helping win the battle.
However, the farmer of the land to be given didn’t agree, so they fought for it in a field. My ancient relation got hit in the head again with a sword, but survived again. I have concluded that we have never quite recovered from that last blow.
One of my American side relations was a soldier of the war of 1812. Have a picture of him! Another fought in the civil war, on the North side, and had his foot blown off. Grandpa was a medic during First World War, however never saw battle. Mom was too young during the World War II, however her cousin died on board the USS Reid. There is, to me, chocking pictures of his death. The destroyer was attacked by seven kamikazes within less than two minutes. The last one crashed and exploded amidships, ripping the ship in half. The pictures show the attack and the aftermath.
I suspect my mom’s cousin was in the engine room and never made it out.
Alexander K
November 12, 2010 4:51 am
Thanks for this, Anthony.
I am one of the incredibly lucky generation born during WWII, which made me either too young or too old to serve at any time of war in any branch of the Services, and a physical defect resulting from an accident during childhood also rendered me unusable by the military.
My father spent his 16th birthday as a Mounted Trooper in Flanders during WWI and also served in various theatres of war in Italy and North Africa during WWII. He returned home without a scratch from either war. When I was young, I could never figure why he, as a convinced and convincing atheist, marched every year with his old comrades at the annual Anzac Day Dawn Parade and stood, with his head bowed for the prayers at the Cenotaph. I understood later and I am proud that my grandson, who never knew my father, marches in that parade wearing his great-granddad’s campaign medals.
My older brother joined the RNZAF straight from school at 16, got his wings, shipped to England and died at the controls of his De Havilland Mosquito shortly after his 20th birthday, a few weeks before D Day. My cousin Ken joined the RNZNavy at the same time and age, also straight from school and was lost on one of the infamous Murmansk Convoys. Most families in New Zealand at that time have similar stories.
I am reminded of them and give thanks every time a young soldier’s body is flown back to the UK, where I am living temporarily, from Afgahnistan and the colour party is shown on the evening news.
Huth
November 12, 2010 7:53 am
“RR Kampen says:
November 11, 2010 at 7:57 am
Bravery means you do not, in any circumstance, ever, join the mass insanity called war. Brave the insane!”
Well said.
RR Kampen
November 12, 2010 9:02 am
Thank you, Huth.
As I was a little suprised my remark came through the moderation, I feel it is my duty to commemorate a piece of enlightenment if there ever was one. It is the Marshall Plan for Europe. Before implementation of this, the country where I live (Holland) and much of Europe was freed – in the real sense of the word – from the nazi’s and actually from (pseudo-)communism or Stalinism as well. USA and other allies (most notably the Canadians and the Poles for Holland), whatever your motives were for this participation in the World War: thanks, and thanks again.
Several have mentioned Armistice Day. Here is a note on the U.S. history of Veterans/Armistice Day [from my book on the Christmas Truce of 1914]:
By October of 1918, everywhere, hopes were rising
for an armistice. In the first week, Austria-Hungary
and Germany had sent notes to the United States,
seeking an armistice based on President Woodrow
Wilson’s “Fourteen Points.”
73
Armistice: The Ending of Hostilities
On 11 November, the warring parties signed the armistice,
bringing that great bloodbath to an end.
Only those who suffered through those cataclysmic
events truly understood the meaning of that day.
On the Continent, Russia and Germany had each
seen 1.7 million of their own soldiers slaughtered.
Between them, some 9 million were wounded.
France saw 1.3 million of its soldiers sacrificed, and
over 4 million wounded. Austria-Hungary suffered
about the same number of tragic loses.
Great Britain mourned almost a million soldiers and
twice that number suffered wounds.
The United States, which had only been in the war
for a year and some months (but a very long year for
those military men), saw over 100,000 of its own men
killed and over a quarter million wounded.
The deep meaning of that armistice remained in the
minds of World War I veterans a half century later
when the U.S. Congress, in one of its clueless moves,
changed the observance of the federal holiday from
November 11th to a certain Monday of October. Memorial
Day, Veterans Day and Washington’s Birthday
were all moved on the calendar in order to create
three-day federal holiday weekends.
Because of the war that had followed that “War to
End All Wars,” President Eisenhower had signed a
law that broadened the meaning of “Armistice Day”
by making it “Veterans Day” in 1954. But in the
minds of the World War I generation, the memory of
that armistice still held sway.
74
Oh Holy Night
So, in the late 1960s when Congress changed the
date, I can still remember my grandmother adamantly
asserting that Armistice Day was November 11th,
NOT the fourth Monday of October. The thousands
of soldiers who, like my grandfather, had served in
France and other lands would not hear of such a
change.
So, South Dakota and Mississippi refused to follow
the federal lead. And one by one, the other states began
reverting back to the November 11th observance.
And the politicians received an earful. The World War
I generation was still alive and well; remembering
and speaking up. They again took back lost ground.
The end result was that one decade after changing
the date, Congress, in 1978, restored the observance
to November 11th.
The height and depth of the longing for an end to
that bloody war was revealed in the celebrations that
broke out on November 7, 1918. Following a reply to
the German government from President Wilson, on
that date, the Chief of Staff of the German Army, von
Hindenburg, sent a telegram to the Allied Supreme
Commander seeking a date for negotiating that armistice.
A mistaken news report declared that the
armistice had been signed. And despite all attempts
by capitols and headquarters to correct the mistake,
celebrations broke out around the world.
Newspaper “Extras” proclaimed “Peace.” Workers and
students poured into the streets with whistles and
bells and anything that could make noise. Church
bells pealed. Parades processed. Jubilation went unquenched.
And it started all over again, four days later,
on the 11th of November.
FijiDave
November 12, 2010 11:49 am
Ken Stewart says:
November 11, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I wonder how many were named after the Battle of the Bulge? 🙂
BTW, love your site. Have it bookmarked
Cheers
dr Phisher
November 12, 2010 11:51 am
Bless all who fought the nazis during WWII.
We can’t thank you enough.
When You Go Home,
Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow,
We Gave Our Today
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
The most poignant, eye-misting tune ever.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4&fs=1&hl=en_GB]
Thank you.
Thank you, although I was never shot at in anger (just by accident).
We buried a friend last year.
He was a Pearl Harbor survivor.
Had another ship sunk under him in the Pacific.
Got his choice of duty after that and chose Naval Air.
Survived 3 airplane crashes without a scratch.
Received the Silver Star and 2 Navy Crosses, as well as other medals.
At the age of 87 he was traveling the world and had a zest for life.
We remember you and love you Fred.
Thank you.
My father was captain of minesweeper HMAS Echuca, Royal Australian Navy. He served from ’39 to ’47. He left a prosperous legal practice to do so, and his lungs suffered long-term damage. He remained RANVR, voluntary reserve, for many years. Never marched or discussed the war.
I’ve done nothing, so my special thanks to all Aussies and allies who have served.
Thank you for that; great poem!
vigilantfish
November 11, 2010 at 2:19 pm
DesertYote says:
November 11, 2010 at 9:51 am
……
In Flanders Fields always brings tears to my eyes as well. I’ve always found Remembrance Day tremendously solemn. It does us all good to remember the sacrifices made by others.
#
What made WWI “real” for me was visiting Verdun while stationed in Germany as a young man. Me and my buddies visited the Douaumont ossuary first. In a dense morning fog, as we neared, the spire appeared in the sky, brooding like a ghost. It sent a chill down my spine. We were all very quite. In fact we hardly talked all day. I had many other vivid experiences during this trip.
Now, every time I think of poppies, Armistice Day or not, I picture all of thous bayonets sticking out of the ground as if they were planted.
I also had a relative, a great Uncle, shot down over Germany during WWII. He was given a Catholic burial by the local Lutheran towns people. According to the letter my family received, the crew had all parachuted except for my Great Uncle and the Gunner he was trying to free from his harness.
Thanks, Anthony, for remembering.
Commendations from the Congressional Medal of Honor. [Click on the particular war in the middle of the page.]
And not to forget the New York firefighters and police, who repeatedly entered the World Trade Center buildings to rescue civilians, until they collapsed:
click1
click2
click3 [some average Americans]
And some advice for peacenik RR Kampen, November 11, 2010 at 7:57 am above:
“Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.”
– George Orwell
[~Smokey, Tuy Hoa, Viet Nam, 1966 – 1967]
”For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”
~Zel Miller
Fijidave:
My Mum was born in August 1919. Conceived Armistice Day. (Grandad had been wounded in one of the last battles.) She once told me she was supposed to have been named “Peace” but her parents decided to call her Frances after the land Grandad fought in. There were lots of Victors, Peaces, and even Anzacs in her generation.
Ken
Thank you, veterans.
Ancient relation fought at the battle of Stangebro 1598. Got hit in the head by a sword but survived. Being the master of the king’s stables in Stockholm, he was given land by the king as a reward for helping win the battle.
However, the farmer of the land to be given didn’t agree, so they fought for it in a field. My ancient relation got hit in the head again with a sword, but survived again. I have concluded that we have never quite recovered from that last blow.
One of my American side relations was a soldier of the war of 1812. Have a picture of him! Another fought in the civil war, on the North side, and had his foot blown off. Grandpa was a medic during First World War, however never saw battle. Mom was too young during the World War II, however her cousin died on board the USS Reid. There is, to me, chocking pictures of his death. The destroyer was attacked by seven kamikazes within less than two minutes. The last one crashed and exploded amidships, ripping the ship in half. The pictures show the attack and the aftermath.
I suspect my mom’s cousin was in the engine room and never made it out.
Thanks for this, Anthony.
I am one of the incredibly lucky generation born during WWII, which made me either too young or too old to serve at any time of war in any branch of the Services, and a physical defect resulting from an accident during childhood also rendered me unusable by the military.
My father spent his 16th birthday as a Mounted Trooper in Flanders during WWI and also served in various theatres of war in Italy and North Africa during WWII. He returned home without a scratch from either war. When I was young, I could never figure why he, as a convinced and convincing atheist, marched every year with his old comrades at the annual Anzac Day Dawn Parade and stood, with his head bowed for the prayers at the Cenotaph. I understood later and I am proud that my grandson, who never knew my father, marches in that parade wearing his great-granddad’s campaign medals.
My older brother joined the RNZAF straight from school at 16, got his wings, shipped to England and died at the controls of his De Havilland Mosquito shortly after his 20th birthday, a few weeks before D Day. My cousin Ken joined the RNZNavy at the same time and age, also straight from school and was lost on one of the infamous Murmansk Convoys. Most families in New Zealand at that time have similar stories.
I am reminded of them and give thanks every time a young soldier’s body is flown back to the UK, where I am living temporarily, from Afgahnistan and the colour party is shown on the evening news.
“RR Kampen says:
November 11, 2010 at 7:57 am
Bravery means you do not, in any circumstance, ever, join the mass insanity called war. Brave the insane!”
Well said.
Thank you, Huth.
As I was a little suprised my remark came through the moderation, I feel it is my duty to commemorate a piece of enlightenment if there ever was one. It is the Marshall Plan for Europe. Before implementation of this, the country where I live (Holland) and much of Europe was freed – in the real sense of the word – from the nazi’s and actually from (pseudo-)communism or Stalinism as well. USA and other allies (most notably the Canadians and the Poles for Holland), whatever your motives were for this participation in the World War: thanks, and thanks again.
Several have mentioned Armistice Day. Here is a note on the U.S. history of Veterans/Armistice Day [from my book on the Christmas Truce of 1914]:
By October of 1918, everywhere, hopes were rising
for an armistice. In the first week, Austria-Hungary
and Germany had sent notes to the United States,
seeking an armistice based on President Woodrow
Wilson’s “Fourteen Points.”
73
Armistice: The Ending of Hostilities
On 11 November, the warring parties signed the armistice,
bringing that great bloodbath to an end.
Only those who suffered through those cataclysmic
events truly understood the meaning of that day.
On the Continent, Russia and Germany had each
seen 1.7 million of their own soldiers slaughtered.
Between them, some 9 million were wounded.
France saw 1.3 million of its soldiers sacrificed, and
over 4 million wounded. Austria-Hungary suffered
about the same number of tragic loses.
Great Britain mourned almost a million soldiers and
twice that number suffered wounds.
The United States, which had only been in the war
for a year and some months (but a very long year for
those military men), saw over 100,000 of its own men
killed and over a quarter million wounded.
The deep meaning of that armistice remained in the
minds of World War I veterans a half century later
when the U.S. Congress, in one of its clueless moves,
changed the observance of the federal holiday from
November 11th to a certain Monday of October. Memorial
Day, Veterans Day and Washington’s Birthday
were all moved on the calendar in order to create
three-day federal holiday weekends.
Because of the war that had followed that “War to
End All Wars,” President Eisenhower had signed a
law that broadened the meaning of “Armistice Day”
by making it “Veterans Day” in 1954. But in the
minds of the World War I generation, the memory of
that armistice still held sway.
74
Oh Holy Night
So, in the late 1960s when Congress changed the
date, I can still remember my grandmother adamantly
asserting that Armistice Day was November 11th,
NOT the fourth Monday of October. The thousands
of soldiers who, like my grandfather, had served in
France and other lands would not hear of such a
change.
So, South Dakota and Mississippi refused to follow
the federal lead. And one by one, the other states began
reverting back to the November 11th observance.
And the politicians received an earful. The World War
I generation was still alive and well; remembering
and speaking up. They again took back lost ground.
The end result was that one decade after changing
the date, Congress, in 1978, restored the observance
to November 11th.
The height and depth of the longing for an end to
that bloody war was revealed in the celebrations that
broke out on November 7, 1918. Following a reply to
the German government from President Wilson, on
that date, the Chief of Staff of the German Army, von
Hindenburg, sent a telegram to the Allied Supreme
Commander seeking a date for negotiating that armistice.
A mistaken news report declared that the
armistice had been signed. And despite all attempts
by capitols and headquarters to correct the mistake,
celebrations broke out around the world.
Newspaper “Extras” proclaimed “Peace.” Workers and
students poured into the streets with whistles and
bells and anything that could make noise. Church
bells pealed. Parades processed. Jubilation went unquenched.
And it started all over again, four days later,
on the 11th of November.
Ken Stewart says:
November 11, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I wonder how many were named after the Battle of the Bulge? 🙂
BTW, love your site. Have it bookmarked
Cheers
Bless all who fought the nazis during WWII.
We can’t thank you enough.