11 11 11 ARMISTICE DAY
 

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918, the guns fell silent. Today the 11th November is Armistice Day. The end of WW1. Quite by chance the date is also 11/11/11.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

AS WE WHO ARE LEFT GROW OLD

AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM

NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN

AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN

AND IN THE MORNING

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRqMMaCZfHI

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Brings a tear to my eyes every time.

And if I may;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urtiy...eature=related

Sorry for the typo Gentlemen....now corrected :o

When You Go Home Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Your Tomorrow We Gave Our Today.

hear hear !

"Their name liveth for evermore".

At home in Canada this poem is a tradition on this Day of Remembrance.

"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."

A PARTICULLARY TERRIBLE WAR WITH THE REEKING BLOOD FILLED TRENCHES AND POISON GAS, BUT THEN THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD OR NICE WAR.
THE WW1 VETS ARE ALMOST ALL GONE NOW THE LAST FEW WERE AROUND 110 YEARS OLD. I REMEMBER TALKING TO A FEW WHEN I WAS A KID AND SOME WERE IN VERY BAD SHAPE EVEN THEN AS SOME HAD BEEN GASSED.
WE ALL OWE THESE WARRORS A DEBT OF GRATITUDE AS THEY MADE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE AT GREAT PERSONEL SACRIFICE IN THE PAST AND TODAYS WARRIORS STILL DO.

Vandoo,

Back home in England as a bairn, one would see these old lads sitting on park benches in awful shape as you say,....gassed, bits missing, deaf as posts very often.
In a way, I think the "lucky" ones were the ones to be snuffed outright.
I often think of my Grandma's brother Will, (Gunner, RFA& RHA) killed in 1918.
He didn't grow old, so is remembered as he was, not a frail old chap.
We have 3 laid in France, and one still on-board HMS Hood, from round 2.

"Age shall not weary them, or the years condemn...." seems most fitting.