They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.....
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . . Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew — And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. — John Gillespie Magee, Jr
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.
Lifted this from Gixerjunkies: The Average British Soldier - YouTube Respect, admiration and gratitude to all service men and women, past and present. JD
Went to the American Cemetery near Omaha Beach in Normandy. Filled me right up seeing all the gravestones and the care taken of them!
No mate, it's Meuse-Argonne, biggest American cemetery outside America. Ww1 site. The respect they show their lost ones is first class. The English ones are amazing, as it's our boys, but whatever you say about the yanks, they honour their lads and girls with pure class!
Just been watching the ceremony at the Cenotaph and I'm already in a bad mood so I'm going to get something off my chest. If I offend anyone, I apologise beforehand and I don't want to turn it into a ping pong thread either. Mrs ken is sat hear beside me in bits at the roll of honour with only a handful of the remembered fallen in their 30's. And I'm sat here slowly seething at the futility of their loss. Not that their sacrifice was worthless. Far from it. But I see them fighting and dying in a 'policing action' that has repelled invasion from Alexander, Genghis Kahn, the British Army of the Raj and the might of the Soviet Union to name but a few, and we are still throwing our young into the meat grinder with little care and increasingly, it seems even less of a structured strategy. To protect the afghan people from the Taliban. I don't think so. To prevent the recruitment and training of terrorists. Well recent events sort of prove that this particular species of pond life is scuttling next door to Pakistan where more than a blind eye is being turned to their continued presence, and billions of dollars and pounds are being poured supposedly in aid but actually in bribes to stop the Pakistan authorities selling weaponised uranium to the terrorist organisations from whom they're in all probability also taking bribes from. Pull the aid, pull the troops. But before they go use the air fleet assembled there to vaporise the Pakistan nuclear resource and remove their bargaining chip, then front up to anyone that complains. You don't put off a noisy neighbour by flexing your muscles at them from your own garden. Sorry guys. I'm sure that I'm completely wrong and the moment's just got to me, but I just don't see any advantage at all being achieved by these sacrifices and nobody in authority seems to see it. And that makes me think about hidden agendas and that just makes me angry all over again. Ignore me, I'm going to shut up now. I'm just upset is all.
