And then there was one...
This time last year I noted that only four British veterans remained from World War I. Sadly, three of those grand old men, Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone, passed away during the last twelve months, and this year's remembrance service in London was the first to be observed without the presence of anyone who fought in the Great War. The fourth member of the group, Claude Choules, now resides in Australia, and at 108 he is one of only three surviving WWI veterans in the entire world; 109 year old Canadian John Babcock and 108 year old American Frank Buckles are the other two.
Remembrance Day is a holiday in Nunavik, primarily to mark the signing of the James Bay Agreement, and I think that the time is long overdue for November 11th to be observed as such on a national, if not global scale. Thanksgiving is already celebrated in both the United States and Canada, but I can think of little else for which more thanks should be given than the sacrifices made by all those who have fought for their countries over the course of history.
May we never forget.
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1 comments:
Here's a fact: 2.4 million soldiers were killed in WW1 and, marching 4 abreast, it would take them over 3 days to march past the Cenotaph.
We are still not learning from history and our soldiers are still dying in the corners of foreign fields, so I think it is good for civilised nations, perhaps collectively, to remember that freedom isn't free. PC
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