Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day

[Sharon]

to my Dad and all the Dads:


JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

[ezzy333]

Thank you Sharon from all of us that served and hopefully from all that are free today and able to go and do what they want to do today.

Ezzy

[art hubbard]

Thank you, from an old Korea Vet

[klewis]

thank you from an old viet nam veteran

[SubMariner]

LEST WE FORGET

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo

In Flanders Field:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgjsIwwhuSo

November 11th really should be a national holiday in Canada. I understand a bill has been introduced in the House of Commons to do so. It's about time.

[Sharon]

In Canada, Remembrance Day is a public holiday and federal statutory holiday, as well as a statutory holiday in all three territories and in six of the ten provinces (Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec being the exceptions). It was cancelled as a holiday in ON in 1989, due to parents pressuring school boards to keep their kids in school , "where the day would be more meaningful".

A public outcry over the last year to make it a holiday , has resulted in Bill C-597 , which I'm quite sure will be passed by Christmas.. It has now passed the second reading/debate period.