Posted on 05/26/2013 4:54:20 AM PDT by michaelwlf3
This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars. And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, But he'll remember with advantages What feats he did that day: then shall our names. Familiar in his mouth as household words Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd. This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember'd; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
I do too...poetic as well as appropriate for this weekend...thanks.
Beautiful; thanks for posting.
And here’s a good primer on the Battle of Agincourt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=s5C0avWFUjA&NR=1
Saint Crispan and Crispian’s Day is October 25th.
In addition to the Battle of Agincort, it is also the day of the Battle of Balaclava (The Charge of the Light Brigade),
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8473299-The_Charge_Of_The_Light_Brigade-by-Alfred_Lord_Tennyson
and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Second Battle of the Philippine Sea), possibly the largest naval battle in history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
Perhaps a better choice for Memorial Day:
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.
— Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae, MD
That speech has become the model for every speech of any note among the English speaking peoples, whether in real life or in fiction, rousing men to courage in battle. Recalling it is fitting for any occasion commemorating martial virtue, even if it’s rather far in the yearly cycle from St. Crispin’s Day.
A good Memorial Day to all.
In my case it is a memorial to all Vietnam Veterans, we remember, even if no one else does.
To my brothers in arms, thank you for your service.
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