All Gave Some, Some Gave All

I'm relieved that Veterans Day is still a valid holiday of remembrance in the U.S.   During my professional career I often happened to be in Europe on November 11th and always found the wearing of poppies on lapels to be a visible sign of remembrance that we don't see as often here.  Wikipedia offers some background

Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans, that is, persons who have served in the United States Armed Forces (and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable).^[1][2] It coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which are celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn to commemorate those who died for their country. Veteran's associations exchange poppies for charitable donations used to give financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.

Let's take some time to remember our vets.  All gave some, some gave all.

Comments

[Everything's Jake]

I am the steward of a US Army sowing kit, trench art (bottle openers made out of bullets), post card booklets, and medals and ribbons, from the Great War. They belonged to Frederick Stelling who served as a colonel in France from 1917-1919. He became an Optometrist who retired in Burlingame in the 1940s. Just thought I'd share that--such a horrific war.

[Good stuff]

A remembrance poppy design for a Central Park Fallen Heroes Memorial, which will recognize San Mateo community members who died while on duty for the military and San Mateo Police and Fire departments, was approved by the San Mateo City Council Tuesday.

The design is based on the red poppy, a flower and worldwide symbol popularized after World War I in Europe to recognize and remember veterans who died. According to a city report, the design will have seven vertical stainless steel column poppy pieces that unite to form a single poppy flower when viewed from a certain angle. Each of the seven columns will represent a branch of the military and the San Mateo Police and Fire departments and include the names of people who died in service. The memorial area will also have lighting for the remembrance poppy, benches, monument signs, a plaque explaining the red poppy’s origins and a donor recognition plaque.

[Joe]

Thanks, Good Stuff.

Here is the link to the full article:

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/remembrance-poppy-approved-for-central-park-in-san-mateo/article_12136e08-2237-11eb-a632-634e0348ef20.html

[Joe]

I'm feeling a bit sheepish because as a Massachusetts native, I did not know this.

Guests on Wednesday flocked to the Plimoth Patuxet museum on the 400th anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact.

It was on board the Mayflower that the Pilgrims, during their five-and-a-half week stay in Provincetown, signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620. Religious leaders William Brewster and William Bradford, among others, wrote the compact, meant as a guide to living in the new colony, which ultimately took shape in Plymouth.

Also Wednesday, the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum plans to hold its annual lighting ceremony to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival on the Outer Cape.

“This year, we are lighting the Pilgrim Monument on Wednesday, November 11,” said museum executive director K. David Weidner in a recent posting on his group’s website. “Unfortunately, we will not be able to have our usual festivities and fireworks in 2020 due to the pandemic. But why, November 11, you may ask? Because that is the date the Pilgrims marked in their diaries as having made landfall in our harbor.”
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Landfall, 400 years ago.