Veterans Day

Thank you, to our Veterans, to all those who have served in the past, both living and dead.

A special thank you to those who currently serve, and to their families, especially those in difficult circumstances.  That includes a special thank you to my co-bloggers who have served, not only those on penigma, but the half dozen other sites where I write.

Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day, declared by Woodrow Wilson to commemorate the date of cessation of the western hostilities of World War I in 1918.

It is now most identified with the Poppy, and the poem In Flanders Field by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.  We've had many wars, police actions and other conflicts since 'the Great War', the 'War to end all Wars'.  The holiday has been extended to cover all those events, and all the men - AND WOMEN - who served.


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.