November 11: Remembrance Day / Veteran's Day

by Scully 13 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Scully

  Pittance of Time by Terry Kelly (music video on youtube.com )

  They fought and some died for their homeland.
  They fought and some died, now it's our land.
  Look at his little child; there's no fear in her eyes.
  Could he not show respect for other dads who have died?
  
  Take two minutes, would you mind?
  It's a pittance of time,
  For the boys and the girls who went over.
  In peace may they rest, may we never
  forget why they died.
  It's a pittance of time.
  
  God forgive me for wanting to strike him.
  Give me strength so as not to be like him.
  My heart pounds in my breast, fingers pressed to my lips,
  My throat wants to bawl out, my tongue barely resists.
  
  But two minutes I will bide.
  It's a pittance of time,
  For the boys and the girls who went over.
  In peace may they rest.
  May we never forget why they died.
  It's a pittance of time.
  
  Read the letters and poems of the heroes at home.
  They have casualties, battles, and fears of their own.
  There's a price to be paid if you go, if you stay.
  Freedom's fought for and won in numerous ways.
  
  Take two minutes, would you mind?
  It's a pittance of time,
  For the boys and the girls all over.
  May we never forget, our young become vets.
  At the end of the line,
  It's a pittance of time.
  
  It takes courage to fight in your own war.
  It takes courage to fight someone else's war.
  Our peacekeepers tell of their own living hell.
  They bring hope to foreign lands that hate mongers can't kill.
  
  Take two minutes, would you mind?
  It's a pittance of time,
  For the boys and the girls who go over.
  In peacetime our best still don battle dress
  And lay their lives on the line.
  It's a pittance of time
  
  In peace may they rest,
  Lest we forget
  Why they died
  Take a pittance of time.
• 

  south african beef

  That was so moving to read Scully.
  
  As a Witness I could neve understand why we were not allowed to wear poppies. My mum told me that it would be supporting the war effort. I thought that most of those that went to war, especially the first and second world wars would not have had any chance to make their mind up and choose 'Gods' side, so why can't we help them and their families to support them?
  
  Anyway, this year and last year I have been wearing my poppy with pride and saying hello to the Servieman and women out in their regalia selling the poppies.
• 

  Scully

  Honestly, I felt so ashamed for all the years I ignored those "two minutes" every 11-11 at 11:00. The music video brought me to tears.

  I wear my poppy with pride and gratitude now.
• 

  crazyblondeb

  I lost a great-uncle in France. That's were he's buried. I love being patriotic now!!

  army> navy> air force> marines>

  coast guard> POW-MIA>

  Big & Rich----The 8th of November

  He said goodbye to his momma
  As he left South Dakota
  To fight for the Red, White, and Blue
  He was 19 in green with a new M-16
  Just doin' what he had to do.
  
  He was dropped in the jungle
  Where the choppers would rumble
  With the smell of napalm in the air
  Then the sargeant said, "Look up ahead"
  
  And like a dark, evil cloud
  1,200 came down
  on him and 29 more
  They fought for their lives
  But most of them died
  In the 173rd Airborne
  
  (Chorus)
  On the 8th of November,
  The angels were cryin'
  As they carried his brothers away
  With the fire rainin' down
  And the Hell all around
  There were few men left standin' that day
  Saw the eagle fly,
  Through a clear, blue sky
  1965, the 8th of November
  
  Now hes 58
  And his ponytails grey
  But the battle still plays in his head
  He limps when he walks,
  But hes strong when he talks
  About the shrapnel they left in leg
  
  He puts on a grey suit
  Over his airborne tattoo
  He ties it on one time a year
  And remembers the fallen,
  As he orders a tall one
  And swallows it down with his tears
  
  (Chorus)
  On the 8th of November,
  The angels were cryin'
  As they carried his brothers away
  With the fire rainin' down
  And the Hell all around
  There were few men left standin' that day
  Saw the eagle fly,
  Through a clear, blue sky
  1965, the 8th of November
  
  Saw the eagle fly,
  Through a clear, blue sky
  1965
  
  (Chorus)
  On the 8th of November,
  The angels were cryin'
  As they carried his brothers away
  With the fire rainin' down
  And the Hell all around
  There were few men left standin' that day
  
  (Chorus)
  On the 8th of November,
  The angels were cryin'
  As they carried his brothers away
  With the fire rainin' down
  And the Hell all around
  There were few men left standin' that day
  Saw the eagle fly,
  Through a clear, blue sky
  1965, the 8th of November
  
  The 8th of November
  The 8th of November
  
  He said goodbye to his momma
  As he left South Dakota
  To fight for the Red, White, and Blue
  He was 19 in green with a new M-16
  Just doin' what he had to do.
• 

  Scully

  Here's the story behind Terry Kelly's lyrics:

  Home Listen to Song Watch the Video Terry's Bio Lyrics and Music Lead Sheet Photo Gallery Links and Credits Français

  On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us. Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable. When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect. Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time". Terry later recorded "A Pittance of Time" and included it on his full-length music CD, "The Power of the Dream". In the interest of creating a greater awareness of the sacrifices that have been made and are still being made on our behalf, "A Pittance of Time" has been adapted to the French language and titled "C'est si peu de temps". Music videos for both audio tracks were also produced in support of the campaign. For more information on Terry Kelly and his work, please visit him at www.terry-kelly.com
• 

  Mary

  Scully said: Honestly, I felt so ashamed for all the years I ignored those "two minutes" every 11-11 at 11:00.

  Me too.

  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.

  We are the Dead. Short days ago
  We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
  In Flanders fields.

  Take up our quarrel with the foe:
  To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
  We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
  In Flanders fields.
• 

  Scully

  Well I had another dub sighting today in the supermarket. It was someone who never bothered with me when I was a good little brainwashed dub... you see, I wasn't "good enough" for her back then, either.

  Anyway, I expect that because she saw me wearing my poppy, I'll end up being announced as "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses". Despite the criteria in Matthew 18 about "laying bare the fault" between her and me alone, and the fact that there were not two eyewitnesses, I suspect that she'll run straight to the elders and let them know what a wicked, horrible, freedom-loving person I am.

  I think it's incredibly ironic that my wearing a poppy - the symbol of lives that were lost fighting for freedom, including their freedom of religion and expression - would be the thing that results in me getting DAd. I may just have to write a letter to the newspaper editor about it, if that's how it turns out.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  God Bless the U.S.A.
  © MCA Music
  By Lee Greenwood
  
  If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
  And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
  I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
  ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.
  
  And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
  And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
  And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
  ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.
  
  From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
  across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,
  
  From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
  Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
  and it’s time to stand and say:
  
  I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
  And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
  And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
  ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.
  
  
  God Bless The U.S.A. Words and Music by Lee Greenwood
  © Copyright 1984 by MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC. & SONGS OF POLYGRAM INTERNATIONAL, INC.
  All Rights Controlled and Administered by MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
  International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
• 

  Alpheta

  My dear father died on November 3, 2002, when I was still a JW in good standing. He was nominally a Roman Catholic, but the family did not hold a religious ceremony for him. There was a "viewing" at a local funeral home and then the following day Dad was interred in a Veteran's Cemetery in SE Wisconsin, after a very moving ceremony. Even if he had been buried from the Vatican and I would have had to kiss the Pope's feet I would have attended, no way in hell was I going to miss my Dad's wake and funeral.

  I don't know why, exactly - perhaps it was because Dad, who was 80 when he died, represented one of an entire generation of WWII veterans in the US, who - then, were dying at the rate of 1,500 a month (must be a higher rate now). Dad had been wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart and also was awarded 3 Bronze Stars. As a child, I recall him one time showing me the scar where the bullet had gone into his upper right thigh. Dad said they never did get the bullet out, but since Dad was a bit of a story teller I never did know if that's true. I do know he suffered severe frost bite of his feet while in Europe and had problems with them for the rest of his life.

  Anyway, a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel was writing a story and my Dad's memorial at the Veteran's Cemetery was featured in the paper, in a story that talked about the lack of veterans and/or other people who are available to play "Taps" at veterans' funerals. We were fortunate - we had a real person play Taps on the trumpet; many veterans have to make-due with a person who appears to be playing Taps on the horn but it is actually a recording.

  There were a couple of photographs in the newspaper taken at the burial memorial while Taps was being played. I miss my Dad. He was a Magnificent Man. Here's a link to the story http://www.jsonline.com/story/?id=94921 (if that works).
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  Mulan

  My Dad died January 27 this year, at age 92. He was in the Navy for almost 20 years until they became JW's, so he didn't get the great retirement benefits. He was out like us, long before he died. He served in WW2 on the Lexington, and is listed as having gone down with the ship when it was sank by the Japanese...........but he didn't. There is a book about The Lexington, and he is in it.

  This is my Dad at about age 20