The Importance of Remembrance

Fading Memory

 

Memory is for when our hearts wander

It is when our minds oft go ponder

The past that has been

And the future that will be

 

The sacrifices of those young and old

Of those that lay waiting in the cold

For that order to go over the top

Fearing that they would instantly drop

 

To the ground, heartbeats fading

Everything given up for saving

That speck of hope we hold dear

Over that unbridled fear

 

The hospital bed draws near

Everything becomes so clear

To our families back home appear

Their memories struck down by fear

 

Of those days in the past

You grew up so fast

To see life fade so quick

It makes them feel sick

 

'Hold firm, for remember I love you all'

Tommy said as his last breath did fall

'Remember me for the good I did

and forgive them for the wrong they did'

 

For memory we hold near

In hope that things become clear

So that we do not forget

For their sacrifice we are in debt

 

Jonathan Whitehead

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We hold memory dear to us. It is still there through struggles and successes in our lives. It is our happy place, our mental delirium when all things around us seem to be falling down. Our saving grace, our sense of being and purpose. Memory is so vital to our day to day lives, we tend to forget its place until what we hold dear to us, what we took for granted, is taken from us without a second thought. Nowadays, we often forget the sacrifices that have led our country, our world into the way it is now. Some people feel that they should fill their lives with seemingly important things such as the need to get a new phone on release day, or how many friends you have to impress on Facebook with your extravagant escapades. In the grandoise scheme of things, these are all null, void and unimportant to the greater picture of the sacrifices made by those nowadays and in years past to allow you such a freedom. Just as a pre-requisite, I am not saying that holiday snaps shouldn't be uploaded, by all means do what you please, but I am just putting things into perspective.

The 11th November is indeed a key date for memorial and remembrance. It brings together multitudes of people of all cultures, ages and religions to partake in a unified show of respect to those soldiers who gave up their lives fighting in all wars past and present, and to those who strive to keep the peace far and wide in modern day conflicts. 2 minutes of deafening silence. 2 minutes of nothingness to praise, appreciate, and thank all of these soldiers for the sacrifice they make for the protection of our world.

 

We lay wreaths to remember those who have died, to remember those soldiers and civilians caught up in conflicts caused by gross differences in ideologies. We listen to the Last Post as a reminder of this sacrifice made by men and women young and old. We pray for peace and an end to the bloodshed and hatred around the world. We manage to find within ourselves an image of hope, solitude, of happiness and joy spread around the world which we hope to instill into other people.

The idea of memory in this day and age is to ensure that those men and women who gave up their lives did not die without purpose, without meaning, without making the world a better place. We will forever hold them in our memories. The countless unknown soldiers lost in the muddy fields of the Somme and Passchendaele, the countless unwritten heroes of the home front, and the way in which soldiers on each side of no mans land fought not in hatred for those on the opposing side, but for an ideology believed in by those in control.

The laying of the ceramic poppies around the Tower of London brings this all home. Those who died for the service of our country will be counted for, they will be remembered, they will never be forgotten. And not just those in our country, and not just those in the First World War. We will remember all those who gave up their lives for the bettering of others lives in the future.

So for all those who weren't able to tell their loved ones goodbye one last time, to those who will forever be lost in the earth that surrounds us, and to those who put their lives on the line day in and day out, I salute you. Your bravery, courage and distilled belief in working towards a safer future for all of us is appreciated beyond belief. Your sacrifices will never be forgotten and nor should they ever be! Thank you.

Jonathan Whitehead