Remembrance Day/Last WWI veteran petition

[DaleK]

"We the undersigned feel enormous gratitude for the sacrifice made by all the Canadian Armed Forces through the ages in defence of this country and its values; acknowledge the very special nature of the sacrifice made by those who fought in the First World War in appalling conditions and with terrible loss of life; note that only three First World War veterans remain, and urge the Prime Minister that their sacrifice, and all of those they served with under arms from 1914-1918, be celebrated by offering a state funeral to the family of the last veteran of the First World War resident in Canada."
Please sign here
http://www.dominion.ca/petition/index.php

In Flanders 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.

 

[Silver]

Great idea. You know, every time I read or hear that poem I get goosebumps.

 

[RoperAB]

Great idea. You know, every time I read or hear that poem I get goosebumps.

I do to.
Just in case you didnt know, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae died shortly after he wrote it.

My Great Grandfather went to France at the start of WW1,a 180 pound young kid. When he came home 4 years later he might have weighed 100lbs and his hair was as white as an old mop. His natural hair colour never came back.
Some of my memories of him are as follows.
He would get really upset if he heard anybody complain of being hungrey.
The slightest noise would send him three feet up in the air from his rocking chair. At the top of the arc he would clap his hands together and say HI/YI!!!
His favorite song when he got a few drinks in him was "Praise the Lord and Pass the Amunition"
Like all the Vets I have known he would never talk about the war. Its to bad we cat understand what they went through. There stories should be heard and understood.
Maybe compulsary military service by all males would educate us?