Remembrance Day / Veteran's Day - November 11, 2011

At 5am on the morning of November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed on a railway car in the  Compiègne Forest, which would end the war to end all wars effective  the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of the year. 

At 5:45am, the following message was sent to the Allied troops:

Official Radio from Paris - 6:01 A.M., Nov. 11, 1918. Marshal Foch to the Commander-in-Chief. 1. Hostilities will be stopped on the entire front beginning at 11 o'clock, November 11th (French hour). 2. The Allied troops will not go beyond the line reached at that hour on that date until further orders.

[signed] MARSHAL FOCH 5:45 A.M.

At the appointed hour, the First World War ended.  It was not the war to end all wars.  But on the anniversary of the armistice, we pause to reflect, to remember, to celebrate, and to thank all of those who have served or are currently serving their country (US or Canada).  Far too many have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.  We should not and cannot forget.

Lt. Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, wrote the following in May 1915...

In Flander's 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.

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.

Thank you to all who have and are serving.