every moving thing ,elevators, the subway, all vehicles , every individual in New York City came to a complete halt at 11 A.M. for a moment of silence .
Poppies offered by the American Legion were worn by most everyone ,signifying the tremendous loss of life by the US Expedionary Force and of the Allies at Flanders field.
Patriotism reigned."The Fighting Irish",for example , were Americans without a hyphen. "Black Jack " Pershing was a hero,as the leader of more than a million of American men sent "overseas" , drove back the enemy from the Argonne Forest and beyond.
Of these million men, one-third suffered death, gas attacks or wounds both mental and physical..
[Patriots like Bill Clinton come to mind...He loathed the military.From the context of his speech at Georgetown,it is apparent that he loathes the United States as well.
[the above a reply to another article.]
I have a rendezvous with death
At some disputed barricade
When spring comes round with rustling shade
And apple blossoms fill the air.
I have a rendezvous with death
When spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath;
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow flowers first appear.
God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Wher love throbs out in blissful sleep,
pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hush awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When spring trips north again this year,
And to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.
- Alan Seeger (June 22,1888 - July 4,1916)
God bless all our Veterans, living and deceased!
Your humble, and obedient!
It was previously called Armistice Day (before WWII).
Poppies are distributed by the Canadian legion. (Not sold, distributed. If you want a poppy, just take one out of the legionnaire's tray. The box with the slot is for contributions. Of course, nobody takes a poppy without donating at least a coin.)
The custom of observing a two minute silence at 1100hrs is today often honoured in the breach, but the custom is still there.
Perhaps it is a happy kingdom whose subjects have largely forgotten the meaning of war.