Saturday, November 10, 2018
Remembrance Day
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day here in Canada and other Commonwealth countries. in the United States it is Veterans Day. This year I'm struck by the time I spent at Parkwood Institute, which is in part a veteran's hospital, especially for vets from the counties of southwestern Ontario.
Inside the main entrance serving the veterans' wing of the hospital is a long memorial display on one wall. Central are the symbolic poppies, the cross, and the well known poem by Sargeant John McCrae, 'In Flanders Fields'.
Our children lived around the corner from John McCrae House, now a museum, and went to John McCrae School, so the poem and the person have a special place in our thoughts. The poem was written during WWI, the end of which was 100 years ago.
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It is such a special poem and I can understand why it has a special place in your thoughts …
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
We are celebrating Armistace day here in NZ too, all I can think about is those poor people that fought back then. Such a sobering reminder of war.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the old vets from WWII is sobering and to think that WWI was supposed to be the war to end them all ….
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by the wall of remembrance in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteArmistice Day is celebrated today in New Zealand, and across the country, many white crosses will be on green areas in the big cities. I am sure it will all be on our TV news tonight. How can wars continue today is beyond my belief, and your photos and the words about John McCrae from Guelph, Ontario are so close to your home and heart.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful memorial. :)
ReplyDelete♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a hundred years ago today that the war which was supposed to end all wars finally came to an end. I sincerely wish all wars were behind us. Someday, probably far in the future, that will come to pass.
ReplyDeleteI think the poem 'In Flanders Fields' is ingrained in all of us. I remember it from public school and it's a poem once heard it's never forgotten.
ReplyDeleteFor all the time I lived in Halton, and the amount of time I've spent in Guelph, I never got around to the McCrae home.
ReplyDeleteMy first days of remembrance were when I was very young. My dad made a point mohave us know the day as he had returned form the Battle of the Bulge seven or eight years before that time.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's uncle was in the service in WWI. Died of influenza before he shipped out to France. We have a document sent from France thanking him for the sacrifice. It hangs in our living room.
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