My Mom sent me and the rest of my siblings a reminder of our Remembrance Day heritage. I wanted to share with you that several of my Great Uncles fought in both world wars and sacrificed much, like so many others did at that time. As Andre and I think about what we want to do on this Remembrance Day, our first thoughts are to attend a program to honour those who gave us our freedom. My Great Uncles never spoke openly about the horrors they saw, however we knew that they were deeply affected by them their whole lives. My Great Uncle Abe penned a poem about his experiences and as I read it, I am reminded that our freedom always comes at a price. I wanted to share it with you today because as we #GETOUT wherever we are, it is because of men like my Great Uncles that we are free to do so. I am grateful.
- Kyrie
Remember Belgium
Remember Belgium? – Ah, that I only could forget
The days I spent there shivering in the mud!
In that part of Hell, I knew so well.
The roar of guns, the sight of bones and blood.
The moans and cries of dying men, I hear them yet
And see them sinking in that sticky mud.
Remember Belgium? Could I forget that sea of red
If I lived to be a hundred years or more?
I’ve packed my load o’er miles of roa
Often waist deep in mud and blood and gore,
Often of bodies of our own and German dead
Used in making roads for a month or more.
Remember Belgium? – Yes, I think I always will,
Where ‘ere I go or what in other places see,
Where I have been and what I’ve seen
In Belgium’s fields alone will always be
The worse there is by far
Of places never meant for man to see.
Abraham Brown
Ypres, Belgium
November 16, 1917