Lest we forget those at war now

Many feel that wars so old need not be remembered, but I beg to differ. These men and women fought for the world as we know it, and so many of them made the ultimate sacrifice. It is said that when one life is lost, at least 100 hearts are broken.

A poppy signifies remembrance. Wear it proudly, for each poppy tells a story. The one I wear is for my great-grandfather, Albert Mallinson, who at 32 years of age died in combat at the Somme, leaving a young wife and two small boys to pick up the pieces and to try to survive without a husband or father. His body was interred in foreign soil, hundreds of miles from home, buried among his comrades who bravely fought for freedom.

When the clock strikes 11, stop, reflect and be thankful for the life we have. Go outside, breathe in the air, soak up the sun, enjoy everything we have, the things that we take for granted every second of the day, for the people we love. Remember the families who live with constant worry because they have someone fighting overseas.

If you know a veteran, thank them. If you see an elderly person getting out of a car with a poppy on the licence plate, that person is a veteran, so swallow your pride and say thank you. For each veteran I have personally thanked, the pride in their eyes, the thank you they give in return, are enough to fill my own heart with pride.

Take your children to the war memorial in your community, tell them why we have Remembrance Day, take them to a Remembrance Day ceremony and have them realize that veterans deserve the utmost respect. They have seen things that we can only conjure up in our worst nightmares but have lived with for most of their lives.

Thank You, Unknown Soldier

I don't see the medals they wore on their chest

or the helmets they placed on their head

I can't see their faces, their tears, or their scars

and I can't see the blood that they've shed

I can't hear the bombs, or the guns, or the sound

of the heart as it beats through the brave

I can't hear the screaming of so many men

or the anguish they took to their grave

I can't smell the stench of their urine, their breath

I can't feel their hunger or pain

I can't feel the yearning for wife, and for child

or the longing to go home again

I can't feel their fear, or their loss, or their grief

or the trenches beneath their feet

I couldn't even begin to know

such victory, such defeat

But as I reflect from my room, in my bed,

in my home, in this country I live

I only know of privilege, and freedom, and hope

and yet I have nothing to give

So I take this moment in silence

for the great sacrifice they made

The men and the boys who gave their lives

and ensured our price was paid

Take my thanks, unknown soldier

may you help to humble me

In your endless tomb of honour

it's your courage that I see

In those endless rows of poppies

blood-red around your grave

I see the truth and meaning

in that precious life you gave

I am humble, soldier living

I am thankful, soldier past

And for you, I wear this poppy

to honour you, at last

At the 11th hour, on the 11th day

of the 11th month – November

Take a moment of silence

to be thankful, and remember!

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