VETERANS DAY
Remembrance of
those who have died in all wars
Plzen, Czech
Republic
10, November 2006
UMO 2, Slovany
MONUMENT OF VETERANS
CZECH RAILWAYS MAIN TRAIN STATION
PLZEN, CZECH REPUBLIC
Gaylord J. Toole, Life Member, Society of the Fifth
Division, US Army, member VFW and Czech Veterans Association of the Czech
Republic, placing a remembrance poppy flower on members of the army of the
Czech Republic and students poppy’s provide by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States.
From
left: Colonel Ing. Vladimir Beneš, Ing. Lumír Aschenbrenner - mayor ÚMO 2
Slovany, Mgr. Petra Fischerová - Plzeò Town hall, Major (in reserves) Ing. Mgr.
Miroslav Charvát, Ing. Pavel Rödl - mayor Plzeò , LTC (in reserves) Ing. Ivan
Èiliak and CW 2 Ivana Brušáková
Veterans of Foreign Wars
City of Rokycany
and
Museum
on The Demarcation Line
”The Club of Military Museum on the Demarcation
Line”
Rokycany, Czech Republic
5.5.2007
Unveiling of statue of General Ernest Harmon
Official program with parade of Western and Eastern historical military
vehicles
G. J .Toole, Society of the Fifth
Division, US Army , standing on the Russian side of
the Demarcation line
Where the
Armerican US Army meet up with
the Russian Red Army
88TH ANNAVERSARY ENDING
OF WWI
PREVIEW
THE BEGINNING OF THE
REMEMBRANCE FLOWER
(Vlèím mákùm)
OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
TO THE CENTER STAGE VFW, Department of Europe
Jr. Vice Commander (Comrade Mowery), District 3 Sr. Vice Commander (Comrade
Millet), Mr. Pospíšil,(Minister of Justic).
Former Chief of General Staff of the
Army of the Czech Republic general Jiri SEDIVY (four
stars general). Wearing for the first time
the Rememberance flower for the
Czech Republic,Mr. Friè (Czech Representative of
the Czech Freedom Fighters Confederacy). And center of photo is Mr. Baloun (Mayor of Rokycany). Veterans Day Observance held in the town square of Rokycany, Czech Republic (12 November 2006).
Minister of Justice, Mr. Pospíšil
Poppy provided by Veterans Of Foreign Wars of the United States
The history of the Czechoslovakian Legion runs parallel with the Americans, Canadian, French and many other countries who have taken to heart in “Flanders Field “as their Remembrance flower for their Remembrance of their war dead.
The Flower of Remembrance
An American
teacher, Moina Michael, while working at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries’
headquarters in New York City in November 1918, read John McCrae’s poem “In
Flanders Fields”. She immediately made “a personal pledge to keep the faith and
vowed always to wear a red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance
and as an emblem for keeping the faith with all who died.
Two years later, during a 1920 visit to the United States, a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom. On her return to France, she decided to use handmade Poppies to raise money for the destitute children in war-torn areas of the country.
Following the example of Madame Guerin, the Great War Veterans’ Association in Canada (the predecessor of The Royal Canadian Legion) officially adopted the Poppy as its Flower of Remembrance on 5 July 1921.
2007 in the Czech Republic, a “Red Devil” from the Society of the Fifth Division, US Army, 89 years later after the Great War of WWI, will lead as the “Red Devils” had done early in WWI and WWII bring memories to bear for soldiers who died from Czechoslovakia who’s memories have never been forgotten, but never had the opportunity to acknowledge by embracing the Remembrance with a Remembrance flower “The Poppy”.
This will make the Czech Republic the first state of the former eastern bloc countries and the first of the new member states of the European Union and member of NATO.
The Society of the Fifth Division is the oldest divisional organization, in years of continuous service, in existence today, and our Red Diamond Magazine the oldest such publication.
It is interesting to note from an excerpt from an article that appeared in the November-December 1950 RED DIAMOND, Volume XXVII—No.2 with the headlines and text shown below states:
Society In Thirty-first Year; Believed To Be Oldest Unit Of Its Kind. The Red Diamond in Continuous Circulation since 1919; Services and Sacrifices of Many Cited, information provided by our National Historian, Keith B. Short.
The membership and officers today of this same Red Diamond Society of 1919 are privilege to still continue keeping this Society with their Red Diamond blood in their hearts. “We Will” has been our motto and battle cry and we have been true to it throughout our lives.
We continue perpetuating and memorializing the valiant acts and patriotic deeds of the Fifth Division; electrifying and unifying that invisible current of fellowship, friendship and comradeship molded in the throes of war and the exigencies of a peace time service and promoting the interest and welfare of our members.
We will continue publishing and preserving the history of the accomplishments of the Fifth Division and the Society, in war and peace, and setting forth the gallant and heroic deeds of our members and assist comradeship that was molded in the those of war as well as those of peace time service .
Each November since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Since 1922, the Veterans of Foreign wars of the United States has conducted its annual Poppy program on behalf of the needy and disable veterans, and the widow and orphans of deceased veterans, today Poppies are distributed by members of their post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in every state of the United States and in many other countries.
This significance of the Poppy can be traced to international origins.
The association of the Poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. There exists a record from that time of how thickly Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France.
This early connection between the Poppy and battlefield deaths described how
fields that were barren before the battles exploded with the blood-red flowers
after the fighting ended.
Just prior to the First World War, few Poppies grew in Flanders. During the tremendous bombardments of that war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing “popaver rhoes” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.
The person who was responsible more than any other for the
adoption of the Poppy as a symbol of Remembrance in Canada and the Commonwealth
was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae,
a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae was born on 30 November 1872 in Guelph, Ontario. At age 14, he joined the High field Cadet Corps and, three years later, enlisted in the Militia field battery. While attending the University of Toronto Medical School, he was a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
With Britain declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Canada’s involvement was automatic. John McCrae was among the first wave of Canadians who enlisted to serve and he was appointed as brigade surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Artillery.
In April 1915, John McCrae was stationed near Ypres, Belgium, the area traditionally called Flanders. It was there, during the Second Battle of Ypres, that some of the fiercest fighting of the First World War occurred. Working from a dressing station on the banks of the Yser Canal, dressing hundreds of wounded soldiers from wave after wave of relentless enemy attack, he observed how “we are weary in body and wearier in mind. The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare.”
In May, 1915, on the day following the death of fellow soldier Lt Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, John McCrae wrote his now famous work, an expression of his anguish over the loss of his friend and a reflection of his surroundings – wild Poppies growing amid simple wooden crosses marking makeshift graves. These 15 lines, written in 20 minutes, captured an exact description of the sights and sounds of the area around him.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae left Ypres with these memorable few lines scrawled on a scrap of paper. His words were a poem which started, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow…” Little did he know then that these 15 lines would become enshrined in the innermost thoughts and hearts of all soldiers who hear them.
Through his words, the scarlet Poppy quickly became the symbol for
soldiers who died in battle. The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in
England, appearing in “Punch” magazine.
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. 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
John McCrae
His poem speaks of Flanders fields, but the subject is universal – the fear of the dead that they will be forgotten, that their death will have been in vain. Remembrance, as symbolized by the Poppy, is our eternal answer which belies that fear.
Sadly, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae died of pneumonia at Wimereux, France on 28 January 1918. He was 45 years old.
Symbol of Unity
At 0530 hours on the morning of 9 April 1917, the Battle of Vimy Ridge began, marking an important milestone in our military history. For the next few days, Canadian troops fought relentlessly, braving enemy forces, a heavily-fortified ridge and the weather. This battle was significant; not only was it a resounding success for Canada but, in the words of Brigadier-General A.E. Ross, it marked the “birth of a nation”. No longer would Canada be overshadowed by the military strength of her allies. This battle had proven Canada’s ability as a formidable force in the theatre of war.
The bravery, discipline and sacrifice that Canadian troops displayed during those few days are now legendary. The battle represented a memorable unification of their personnel resources as troops from all Canadian military divisions, from all parts of Canada and from all walks of life, joined to collectively overcome the powerful enemy at considerable odds. The Canadian troops united to defeat adversity and a military threat to the world.
Now, decades later, Canadians stand united in their Remembrance as they recognize and honor the selfless acts of our troops from all wars. They realize that it is because of their war veterans that they exist as a proud and free nation.
The Canadian Royal legion in collaboration with the Czech legion has made it possible that now the Veterans of the Czech Republic can follow in the foot steps of their sister organization of the Canadian Royal Legion to establish the Remembrance poppy as a part of their annual Remembrance and now a Remembrance Poppy to wear in Remembrance of their War Dead from the former Czechoslovakia that dates back to World War One, World War Two and today as NATO members known as the army of the Czech Republic (ACR).
Today, when people from Canada, United States, France, and Britain from all walks of life join together in their pledge to never forget, they choose to display this collective reminiscence by wearing a Poppy. They stand united as sharing a common history of sacrifice and commitment to their war dead.
Information has been so gracefully provided by the Canadian Royal Legion, who have taken to heart the true meaning of “In Flanders Field” and made it possible to assist in the implementation of the Remembrance Poppy for the Czech legion and Czech Veterans Association
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