Today is ‘Armistice Day’ – Remembrance Sunday – the anniversary of the Armistice which ended the 1914-18 ‘Great War’ (11th of the 11th at 11am). It is, I believe, roughly equivalent to ‘Veteran’s Day’ in the States. Today we have given thanks for the sacrifice made by those who have fought for freedom in times of war. We have grieved at the bloodshed of wartime. We have prayed for those who serve in our Armed forces. We have committed ourself to peace.
Filed under: Remembrance
One day per year to honor the many who have sacrificed their own lives and well-being for my freedom seems too little to offer. I am gratetful everyday, even when I don’t remember to show it.
I think it is a stretch to say these people ‘died for freeom’. More often than not, these people were sacrificed for next to nothing. Certainly, there was no honour in the First World War, the “war to end all wars”. Every war since then is a betrayal of those who died on the Somme or at Flanders.
And it is for this reason I, and many others, wear a WHITE poppy.