Friday, November 11, 2011

Lest We Forget

Today in Canada is Remembrance Day, honouring those who died in wars, as well as those who fought in wars and came home forever changed.   



"So on the day when you fly that flag
for the ones who never made it back
say an extra prayer for those
who'll always be
wounded."

(from the song "Wounded" by Lennie Gallant)


To hear and see the rest of the lyrics to this moving song, please click on the poppy.




20 comments:

  1. A beautiful shot as remembrance. I hope we remember all the victims of war too - and strive to achieve peace.

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  2. What a beautiful statue. Where is it?

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  3. Such a sad song & stunning photo. Let there be peace....

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  4. ladyfi,
    yes, peace on Earth...is that too much to ask?


    Jenny Woolf,
    The statue is in Vancouver BC, outside the seabus terminus(formerly the Canadian Pacific Railway station) in the touristy/historical area of the city known as Gastown. It's called "The Angel of Victory" and was designed by Couer de Lion MacCarthy. (How's that for a name?!)

    A plaque at the base of this statue reads,

    "To commemorate those in the service of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company who, at the call of king and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardship, faced danger and finally passed out of sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."


    jann,
    Lennie is a very gifted song writer and talented musician. So many of his songs tell moving stories. I'm glad you took the time to listen. Yes, why can't mankind "give peace a chance."

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  5. From the depths of horrors unspeakable, you, like the angel in the statue, pull us up toward the stars... But can the wounded also rise and leave behind the bestial burden of bloody memories, or are they condemned to forever re-live them, until they too at last shed this mortal coil ?

    Many thanks for this incredible song... will listen again, and again soon. Your image here is transcendant...

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  6. Owen,
    I would not want to walk in any soldier's shoes or live their memories; nor that of their families, no matter how proud they may feel of the sacrifice their children chose to make for their countries. What a burden they all bear. What a burden we as humans bear, watching the continuation of bloody wars all over the globe. How is it we have not evolved from this primitive, territorial drive for domination?

    I was so pleased to come across a good audio version of Lennie's song to share here. It is powerful, isn't it. One of his best. I've been listening to it all day.

    Peace be with us all.

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  7. Said, that we are all one winged angles, able to fly while embracing eachother.

    Up, onwards to hope and peace. Please have a good weekend you all.

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  8. Robert,
    I hadn't heard that before, about being one-winged angels. What a beautiful concept. May we all fly together, helping each other along with hope towards peace.

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  9. what a stunning photo - I love the effects you have achieved here...

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  10. You are perceptive to remember the damaged as well as the fallen. My father, a young gardener who had lived in the shadow of a monastery, saw the devastation in his own country and then in Europe. In those days PTS disorder was unknown and one dealt with the internal album of images and sounds alone. When he died at 52; we were still strangers. I wonder if it might have been different if he had lived in another decade.

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  11. Lovely Remembrance Day post, Louciao.

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  12. oh...


    The Death Of A Soldier
    (Wallace Stevens)

    Life contracts and death is expected,
    As in a season of autumn,
    The soldier falls.

    He does not become a three-days personage,
    Imposing his separation,
    Calling for pomp.

    Death is absolute and without memorial,
    As in a season of autumn,
    When the wind stops,

    When the wind stops and, over the heavens,
    The clouds go, nevertheless,
    In their direction.



    (and now i will go listen to the song...)

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  13. Yup, history has taught us that we have truly not learned a thing from history!

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  14. What a wonderful image as well as your words. Very moving.
    V

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  15. Catherine,
    Thank you so much for your words of encouragement.

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  16. DCW,
    What an interesting and touching story you relate. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience here. The damages of war are even more far-reaching, it would seem, than the obvious scars and withdrawals of those who survived the battles. Your father's "internal album of images and sounds" must have been such a lonely, confusing and damaged place for him to dwell, and bewildering for those who wished to be close to him. Our parents' pains help shape us into who we become, for better or worse. I guess it's up to us to make it for the better.

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  17. Hilary,
    A small gesture of sympathy (I cannot pretend to empathy in this case, never having experienced war at close hand).

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  18. Roxana,
    Thank you for adding that poem to the memorial here. It lends just the right tone. Especially the inexorable clouds...

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  19. Saj,
    It would seem that history constantly repeats itself, ad nauseum.

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  20. Virginia,
    Thank you for coming by and laying a wreath here at the memorial.

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