Poppies

I have seen a lot of them around these days, poppies. Not the real ones that raise their heads in the fields on a summer's day but man-made lookalikes. Not that I could have missed noticing them. It is hard not to, as they are also sold at the entrance of the supermarket I frequently visit to avoid starvation. Many people walk around with a poppy pinned on their lapel in the run-up to Remembrance Day. A day which is

 







observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. As the beginning of 'The Great War' lies 100 years behind us, much attention has been paid to this event in the media. Even more so due to the incidents that took place in the streets of Montreal and at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Quite a few documentaries about WWI and WWII have been broadcast during the past week on Canadian television in the prelude to Remembrance Day. I for one found the ones titled 'War Story' that History Channel screened the most impressive. Let me explain why. Different episodes of 'War Story' tell the story of an extraordinary military event in WWII where Canadians made the difference. Be it the landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, flying the Typhoon fighter-plane or capturing the Port of Antwerp to secure a save haven for the Allie's supply vessels. Not in a Hollywood style movie with heroic stories and enormous explosions, but through powerful interviews with men that have actually taken part. Historical footage shot at those very moments graphically shows the horrors of battle. And horrific it was. Purposeful though. Aimed at eradicating Nazi Germany. Something I have great difficulty with is finding a purpose in WWI. Huddled together, standing knee-deep in the mud in trenches waiting for the order to climb out and run into the spray of bullets spat out by German machine guns. Day after day. Madness. 

The poem 'In Flanders fields' by John McCrae is often recited around Remembrance Day, picturing life on the western front near Ypres. One has to bear in mind though that it was written early in the conflict, before the romanticism of war turned to bitterness and disillusion for soldiers and civilians alike. About 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians died during WWI. A more 20 million were wounded. Staggering numbers.  

Nowadays a military career is a choice. And like firemen fight fires and sometimes get burned, soldiers fight wars and sometimes get shot. Comes with the job. However, this was not the case way back then. Bar the few that actually chose to join the army. I therefore do have great respect for the men and women who fought in WWI and WWII. They did not have a choice but were drafted into war. 

Like the proverbial donkey we should learn from our mistakes, but we hardly ever do.

So, on a more serous note I would like to urge: 'Lest we forget'...