Sunday is November 11th. Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day in Canada
Many of you are familiar (I think) with “In Flanders Field” by Canadian John McRae:
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 (1917)
On the battlefields of WWI, poppies flourished for some sad reasons: discoveringbelgium.com/...
In 1915 the first records appeared of no-man’s land being “ablaze” with scarlet poppies. From this time onwards, letters sent home by soldiers constantly referred to the fields of poppies, and featured heavily in soldier’s poems.
More than half of the info in it is stuff I didn’t know. Worth checking out.
WWI has a lot of significance for Canadians. One reason was the Battle of Vimy Ridge:
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. [Map] Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties. [ www.warmuseum.ca/...]
From an article in the Globe and Mail about oak trees descended from one at Vimy: www.theglobeandmail.com/... (By the end of the battle, no oak trees were left standing.)
In April 1917, a Canadian soldier standing on a war-ravaged battlefield in France pocketed a souvenir to send home: a handful of acorns from a downed oak tree at Vimy Ridge.
Now, a century after the First World War ended, oaks descended from those acorns have begun growing at parks and cenotaphs across Canada. And the Vimy oaks have made the journey back to France, where they will grow in a new centennial park beside the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Here is a link to an article about the Vimy Ridge Memorial. www.warmuseum.ca/… If you’re interested, there are links to other aspects of Canada and WWI.