In remembrance

In the midst of our game wars and politics, I want to pause to remember those who have gone before us in RL. Today is Remembrance/Armistice/Veterans Day for many of us, marking the end of the Great War of 1914-1918. I know Belgians sacrificed much in that war. If you have stories you would like to share, please post them here.

In my mother's living room, there is a picture of her father, his twin brother and 3 of their maternal cousins, all in uniform, prepared to deploy to Europe for the fight. They were Canadian, born in a tiny town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, of German stock. The community retains a lot of its German culture. Even today, more than 250 years after arrival in Canada, there are German-derived expressions used that I can trace in a modern-day German dictionary. In that war, where Canada joined early and fought heroically, my grandfather attained a field promotion to the rank of lieutenant and medals for bravery, but came home and put them away and hardly ever spoke of them again. His twin brother, he left buried in French soil. My great-uncle's name can be found recorded among the names of the fallen in a tower in Ottawa, and his burial site is listed on an online database, but there are few others that will remember him or his sacrifice on this day. To all such soldiers, thank you, and rest in peace.

Remembrance day or poppie day as it is also called can't lack this poem by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields

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.


John McCrae

To all countries who helped us in both World Wars: we will always be in debt for your heroic actions

Today I blew a simplified version of the Last Post at the monument in our village, every Belgian village has its own statue to remember those who died and those who survived

My Great Grandfather's Brother died in World War I, he died in a wave of Gallipoli but not of being shot but of becoming very ill.

I salute you!

The military cemetaries of Western Flanders are very impressive, regardless the nationality of the soldiers who were buried there - it's a very overwhelming thought that behind every stone there is not just a name (or in many cases only "Known Unto God), but a tragic story of a young life. I see 11.11 as a day to remember us about how lucky we are to have never experienced war at first hand.


Famous statues of mourning parents by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz, who lost her son in a battle in Western Flanders.