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| Sunday, 7 November 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Remembering our war heroes Remembrance Day or Poppy Day will be commemorated at the Cenotaph War Memorial at the Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo today (November 7). The event is spearheaded by the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen's Association which has a membership of over 10,000 drawn from the three Armed services - the Army, Navy and Air Force. Poppy wreaths will be laid at the Memorial and people will wear poppy flowers as a mark of respect to the war dead. The poppies are distributed by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans. They do not have a fixed price but rely on donations.
Many countries have a special day to remember their war heroes; America has Veterans Day, while France has Armistice Day. The British commemorate those who fought, and are still fighting, for their country on Remembrance Day, which is always held on November 11. This is the day World War I ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiegne, Northern France, at 5.00am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minutes silence in the UK at 11.00am, every November 11. There are marches around the country by war veterans while the Royal Family, along with politicians, gather at the large war memorial also known as Cenotaph in London. In many countries, the nearest Sunday to November 11 is called Remembrance Sunday. How did the poppy come to be the symbol of remembrance throughout the world? It is venerated since the battle fields of Flanders in Belgium resembled fields covered with poppy flowers due to the blood that was left on the frozen fields during the first World War 1914-1918. The red petals of the poppy symbolize the outpouring of blood by soldiers on foreign soil where they perished. The poppy was first described as the 'flower of remembrance' by Canadian Col. John McCrae, who served in the First World War. During the war, the battle fields contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. The battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before. This inspired McCrae, to write the famous poem "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. 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. The American Moira Michael was the first person to wear a poppy in remembrance. In reply to McCrae's poem, she wrote a poem titled 'We shall keep the faith' which includes the lines: And now the Torch and Poppy Red We wear in honour of our dead. She bought some poppies, wore one, and sold the others, raising money for ex-servicemen. Her colleague, French YMCA Secretary Madame Guerin, took up the idea and made artificial poppies for war orphans. It caught on. In November 1921, the British Legion and Austrian Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' League sold them for the first time. The Poppy Appeal continues to raise funds for the benefit of soldiers and their families by selling small paper or fabric poppies, which are worn in November by most people to signify their support and as a memorial to the victims of all wars. The poppies are made by hospitalized soldiers in memory of their fallen comrades. All proceeds from the Poppy Day sale are used to provide welfare and other facilities for disabled soldiers and dependents of dead servicemen. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
The day is dedicated to the memory of those who fought in the first and
second World Wars and the soldiers who died fighting in the 20-year war in
Sri Lanka. The country was under British rule during the two World Wars
and many locals served in the local and British regiments. The decades old
civil war in the island had claimed the lives of thousands of our soldiers
and many have been maimed (disabled) for life. They sacrificed their lives
and limbs so that we could live in peace and security and it is only right
that we remember them on this day.
