A USMC vet salutes his fallen comrades…
******
A Red Army vet salutes his fallen comrades…
******
Requiem by Alfred Schnittke
******
Death be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell’st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.
Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnet X
John Donne
******
Lux Aeterna (Light Eternal) by Patrick Wilson
******
Honouring the fallen at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC USA
******
Honouring the fallen at a war memorial in Kiev THE UKRAINE
******
Memorial Day isn’t about a long three-day weekend… it isn’t cookouts, mindless recreation, and trips to the amusement park… it’s meant to be the same sort of memorial as Victory Day in Russia is, a day to remember why we can live in peace and security. We have peace because those who went before us had the endurance and determination to “stick it out”… we have peace because others spilled their blood and gave their lives in selfless sacrifice… that’s something that all too many forget. I agree with Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI)… we should restore Memorial Day to the traditional 30 May date. No doubt, there’d always be a “fun” aspect to the day (and I’m NO spoilsport, mind you), but we should always keep in mind that Memorial Day is a Remembrance Day. For one, we could mandate that commercial establishments close on this day, and that we not profane it with “sales”. That’s obscene and meretricious. It’s no wonder that the rest of the world considers Americans soulless moneygrubbers, they see things like STUPENDOUS MEMORIAL DAY SALE. We’d go a long a way in retrieving our reputation by banning commercial activity on this day… we can lay aside one day in the year to honour our war dead… otherwise, we’re not decent and proper human beings… do think on that.
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Sunday 29 May 2011
Albany NY
