SUNDAY November 11, 2018
Veterans Day
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer… in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation… My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”
2 Samuel 22:2-4
Today is Veterans Day. It is a day set aside to honor and remember those men and women in the armed forces who have courageously fought and died to keep this great country free. It is amazing that November 1, 2018, marks the Centennial Commemoration of the end of World War 1. In tribute, a fitting war-time poster has been designed with a red poppy and barbed wire.
Not everyone knows the symbolism of the red poppy worn by many people, especially in Europe. The red poppy grows wild in many fields in northern France and Belgium where some of the deadliest battles of World War 1 took place, and where many men died. A bronze plaque contains the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” written by World War I Canadian soldier, John McCrae, at the Essex Farm Commonwealth Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium. John was a doctor who treated wounded men in the field.
John saw that the resilient red corn poppy was the first flower to grow in the war-torn earth. After John had buried a friend, he was moved to pen this well-known, wartime poem making the poppy a symbol of remembrance.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating November 2018, as National Veterans and Military Families Month. He encouraged all communities, sectors of society, and all Americans to acknowledge and honor the services, sacrifice, and contributions of veterans and military families for what they have done… to support our great Nation.
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.
~John McCrae~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!
