Today at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we remember the soldiers and civilians killed in both World Wars and the countless other conflicts since. This week I heard a heart wrenchingly sad statistic that is all too easy to pass over. In the First World War, 12% of the widows of soldiers killed in the war were themselves dead within a year. How many more were left is drastic states and driven to destitution we will never be know.
So today we should remember not only the soldiers and civilians killed directly by war but also remember those they left behind, so many of whom suffered so much in the life they were left with when their menfolk never returned.
In Flanders Fields
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.
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.
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.
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
I've never come across that statistic, how utterly awful. You are right, we should remember all those affected by these conflicts x
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