Today is Veterans Day, a day of recognition, appreciation, and honor for those who have served in our nation’s military. Originally known as Armistice Day, the annual commemoration had its first observance on November 11, 1919, by order of President Woodrow Wilson to honor veterans of World War I and to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the Armistice which brought an end to the Great War. The Armistice was signed by Germany at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. In the 1950s, the holiday’s name was officially changed to Veterans Day and was expanded to honor all U.S. military veterans. Today, there will be numerous ceremonies and parades, and millions of flags will fly across the country. Last week’s tragic shooting and loss of life at Fort Hood will no doubt heighten the emotions of the day.
Other nations that were involved in World War I will be commemorating this day as well. In the United Kingdom and among other nations of the British Commonwealth, November 11 is celebrated as Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day and Armistice Day. Your desk calendar or daily planner may note that today is Remembrance Day in Canada.
Mark Knopfler’s latest cd, Get Lucky, includes a track entitled, “Remembrance Day.” While the song references many traditions that are far more British than American (i.e., morris dances, cricket, poppies, etc.) and the video images below are related to commemorations in the U.K., the sentiments are identical to those of U.S. citizens who wish to honor the service of our veterans. Names like Alfie, Bill, Ken, Sam, Andy, Jack, John, Charlie, Martin, Jamie, Ron, Harry, Stephen, Will, Don, Matthew, and Michael were shared by both American and British troops.
The final verse of the song reads:
“When November brings the poppies on Remembrance Day; when the vicar comes to say, ‘May God bless them, every one; lest we forget our sons.’ We will remember them.”
The last song on Get Lucky is “Piper to the End.” The liner notes include the following explanation from Knopfler: “Piper to the End is for my Uncle Freddie, Lance Corporal Frederick John Laidler, a piper of the 1st Battalion, Tyneside Scottish, The Black Watch, RHR, who carried his pipes into action and was killed with them at Ficheux, near Arras, on the 20th of May, 1940, aged 20.” The notes also indicate that all proceeds from “Remembrance Day” and “Piper to the End” will go to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. It is refreshing to see recording artists using their influence to assist veterans’ organizations.
As appropriate as it is for us to observe Veterans Day, we are even more privileged as Christians to celebrate Remembrance Day every Sunday in the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine. This, too, is an acknowledgement of great suffering and a sacrifice that was made for our eternal good and blessing. And, being celebrated each Resurrection Day, it affirms our faith that victory has been assured; victory over sin, victory over death, and victory over hell. The Victor is coming!
Thinking Out Loud 
2 comments
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November 11, 2009 at 8:57 am
Kim Pyles
Good job, honey.
July 30, 2011 at 5:42 am
Ian McCulloch
Hi – I found this article about your Uncle Freddie very interesting and I would be very interested in hearing any more information about the action at Ficheux. I am sorry I am being lazy here and copying a post that I put on the National Prisoner of War website some years ago:
I was wondering if anyone would happen to know of my father, Alan McCulloch, who volunteered, aged 19, in 1939, with the Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch). We think he was captured at Ficheux.He was from The Grange, Ponteland, Northumberland. He spent 5 years in POW camps, and having attempted escapes a few times had it quite tough down the salt mines in Poland. We have only snippets of things about his time in POW camp because he rarely talked about it, and as small boys my bro and I never pushed him to. He always used to tell us what a terrible thing war is, how he always used to feel sorry for the animals, etc, and of course how they used to dream of food all the time. He described to me once running through the snow with machine gun bullets landing all round him as he was being chased by the Germans. We understand that during one escape period he was taken in and treated really well by a Polish family, whose daughter he fell in love with. Sadly they never regained contact following the war. He described to me once the panic and confusion when they were attacked by the Germans, the vehicles exploding, etc. (Presumably during the action at Ficheux?)He described another time how he saw a mother machine gunned to death by a tank infront of him, and her young child crying her eyes out stood next to her. He said on another occasion how the Germans put him and his mates infront of a firing squad at one point. He told me once how when the war began he had been boy, but that when it ended he had turned into an old man. My Godfather, Sgt Major Doug Harpin (Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, was captured at St Valery and they subsequently became great friends in POW camp. Douglas Harpin told me that at the end of the war when they were being marched away from the Russians, my Dad told him he was going to hide up and wait for the Russians. (He was very ill, with T.B)Uncle Douglas tried to pursuade him to stick with the rest of them, but he was very stubborn and wouldn’t listen. (Earlier in the war he had been put on a train with Russians for 4 days on the way to a POW camp, and said what great people they were.) When he hid-up he was lucky because as he expected the Russians were good to him and he got back to Britain two weeks earlier than the rest of his mates. After the war he became a veterinary surgeon and we moved to Herefordshire. He never got over the war fully and had a sad death following serious depression. I wish I had been older and more mature so that I could have been more support. I would welcome any comments from anyone who might have known him as we are trying very late to piece together some further details of his time in the Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) Thankyou – Ian McCulloch (imwmcculloch@hotmail.com)