And this year I have placed the poppy on the heart of my home.....
Will Never Forget
HENRY Allingham, 112, is Britain's oldest First World War veteran. Allingham is the oldest living link to the 9 million soldiers killed in World War I.
He says:
"WHENEVER I saw people wearing poppies, it reminded me of my time in France when death and the fear of death was as near to me as the poppies growing in the fields.
"Age has made my eyesight fail and I can no longer see the symbolic red flowers. But when someone near tells me they're wearing a poppy, I always ask if I can feel them. It's comforting to know that people are still paying their respects.
"And that is all a poppy represents - respect. All this talk of wearing white poppies, red poppies and no poppy at all is getting away from the point. Pinning a poppy to your chest is a sign that you are remembering all those men who didn't want war, but volunteered anyway and had no idea of the horror and brutality they would face.
"I am glad the families of the men formerly condemned as cowards will be at the Cenotaph this year. It was clear to me that many men who survived the trenches would crack.
And I believe, 90 years on, we should give them the benefit of the doubt."
Allingham in RNAS uniform in 1916
Frank Woodruff Buckles (born February 1, 1901) is, at age 107, the last identified living American veteran of the First World War.
Buckles at age 16
Vigile 1914-1918 Vigil: A Project of Remembrance ....Remembering Each Heart
http://www.historysociety.ca/vigil/
1914-1918 Vigil
November 5, 2008
"Thanks to actor R.H. Thomson and lighting designer Martin Conboy, there’s a dramatic new memorial on now in downtown Ottawa. The 1914-1918 Vigil commemorates the 68,000 Canadians who lost their lives in World War I by projecting their names onto the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa.
It will run for seven nights, starting at 5:00pm each evening. The first name appears at 5:15pm. Each night’s vigil will be 13 hours long, ending at sunrise the following day. The vigil will then recommence at 5:00 p.m. and run another 13 hours. The last name will appear as dawn breaks on November 11. This vigil is also taking place in other Canadian cities and in London, England."
Ottawa War Memorial with names of the Fallen Soldiers
Picture and info: www.ottawatourism.ca
4 comments:
HEY MOM, NICE POST, I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE THING ON THE DOOR
You mean the Heart and poppies....Thanks Em!
Luv you.
xxxooo Mom
Hello Annabelle, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment on my blog. It's so nice to meet you. Your blog is very nice! Thanks for tracking me down through Etsy, I really need to get some things listed on there.
Blessings, Shirl
Shirls Rose Cottage
What a beautiful post, it made me stop and really think of all the very wonderful people I owe so very much too, such ordinary people with such extraordinary lives....I really didn't know the meaning of sacrifice, until I read a post like this, then maybe I begin to have some true realisation. Thankyou for bringing these wonderful people into my life.
Hugs Lynn xx
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