\"Remembrance Day\" at War Memorial draws huge crowds

The \"Remembrance Day Service and Parade,\" an annual event that brings the memories of fallen War Heroes closer to the hearts of the masses with a red-coloured Poppy flower worn on their chests got under way at Vihara Maha Devi Park on Sunday (07), attended by a large gathering of Parliamentarians, Senior officers of three Armed Forces, Members of the Ex-servicemen\'s Association and other dignitaries who paid tribute to their fallen leaders, comrades and beloved ones during World Wars and in the War for Separation.

Mr. Rathnasiri Wikramanayake, Hon. Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Security and Law and Order and Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Prasanna Gunawardane, Mayor of Colombo, Major General (Retd) T. Paranagama, President, of Sri Lanka Ex servicemen's Association, Chief of Defence Staff and Commanceer of the Navy Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, Commander of the Army Lieutenant General S.H.S. Kottegoda, Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal G. Donald Perera, next of kin of fallen heroes, war veterans and many invitees joined the Sir Lanka Ex servicemen\'s Association (SLESA) to pay tributes to those heroes.

After troops were brought to attention by Parade Commander, the two minute silence coupled with the sounding of the last post by trumpeters followed. Minutes after reading of the Ode by President SLESA, troops rose to their feet while the National anthem was on. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic religious services then began as preparations to place floral wreaths at the cenotaph got under way.

Hon Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Mayor P. Gunawardene, President SLESA, chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, Army Commander Lt. Gen S.H.S. Kottegoda, Air Force Commander Air Marshal G.D. Perera, diplomatic corps, war veterans, members of Merchant Navy and several senior ex-servicemen followed in line to lay wreaths at the cenotaph.

The day\'s ceremony culminated in a March Past of Troops led by members of the Sri Lanka Navy Band. Here is a brief account of the sequence of events that led to marking of the \"Remembrance Day\"

The red poppy ; flower of remembrance

Times centuries passed: dynasties rose and fell. Babylon flowered and crumbled into dust. The Pharaohs lived their brief span and passed on. Europe emerged from her savagery and fair cities spread across her smiling landscape.

Then, out of the land of the white poppy, came Genghis Khan. His ravaging hordes, as they swept tumultuously westward, brought terror in their train, and wherever they passed, their men died.

But something besides death they brought it was a strange and awesome symbol in the wake of the Great Khan's blood – thirst warriors, wherever the blood of man was spilled, the seeds of the \'Flower of Forgetfulness\' put forth blooms.

However, a strange transformation had taken place. The 'White Flower of Forgetfulness' had turned blood red; and in the center of each flower was outlined a cross, as through nature herself was crying in protest at the wanton slaughter.

Through the centuries, stranger events occurred. Emperors and Kings marched their armies across suffering Europe in bloody conflict and everywhere, on battlefields, which before had been bare wastes, there sprang up the poppy, it's symbol carpeting the graves of men who had died.

It was Lord McCauley who first drew attention to this strange symbolism and it was he whom first suggested that the poppy should henceforth be known as the 'Flowers of Sacrifice and Remembrance'.

In Flanders Fields. Lt.Col John McCrae is the author of the famed poem, in Flanders Fields written during the First World War. Mc Care was more than a poet, and was in fact a doctor, soldier, author and artist. He was born in 1872 and raised in Gyelph. Ontario and is remembered as one of Guelph's most famous sons.

John\'s early education was received in Guelph, first at Central Public School and subsequently at Guelph Collegiate Institute He joined the Highland Cadet Corps which was affiliated with the Guelph Collegiate at the age of 14. One year later, Mc Crae became a bugler in the local militia regiment of artillery commanded by his father, He later joined this same regiment as gunner.

At the age if 16. John was awarded a scholarship to the University of Toronto due to his academic achievement at Collegiate. While at university, John maintained at Collegiate. While at university, John maintained his military ties with the no 2 Battery in Guelph, He graduated at the top of his class in medicine at the university and in 1899 was awarded a fellowship in pathology to McGill University in Montreal.

When the First World War began in 1814, McCrae again offered his services to the military. He had previously served as a gunner in the South Africa War. However the powers – that be decided that his abilities could be used to better advantage, and so he landed in France as a Brigade Surgeon of Canadian Filed Artillery.

Is was after performing the service of friend, Alexis Helmer that Mc Craw was inspired to write \'In Flanderd. The poem was written on May 3rd 1915 and first published in Punch Magazine on December 8th, 191. He first described the Flanders poppy as the Flower of Remembrance\'. Flanders was the region now covered by the Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders the French Department of Nord and Part of the Dutch province of Zeeland. Thousands of soldiers who died at the battlefront in France were buried there.

At the second Battle of Ypres in 1915, when in change of a small first - aid post during a full in the action, Lt .Col. McCrae wrote, in pencil, on a page torn from his dispatch book.

In January 1918, while serving in Canadian General Hospital in France, McCrae became ill with pneumonia, which was soon complicated by meningitis. On the third evening he was wheeled to the balcony of his room to look over the sea towards the cliffs of Dover, The verses were obviously in his mind, for he told the doctor who was in charge of his case; \"Tell them this, if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep\'.

The same night, January 28th, 1918, McCrae die and was buried with military honours at beautiful cemetery on rising ground above Wimereaux, from where the cliffs of Dover are easily visible on sunny days. At, McCrae's funeral procession, 75 nursing sister stood by to watch and McCrae's horse, Bonfire, wore his master's boots backwards in military tradition. We Shall Keep The Faith

Moina Michael was born near Good Hope, Walton Country, Georgia on August 15th, 1869 and grew up in a rural and religious community. At the age of 15, she began her career as a teacher, spending time in every section of the educational system in Georgia, teaching in country, town, state and church schools.

In September 1918, she took leave of absence from her post at the University of Georgia and arrival at the YMCA Training Headquarters at Columbia University, New York City, where she had originally been a students in 1912-1913.

The idea for the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy came to Monia Michael while she was working at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries' Headquarters on a Saturday morning in November 1918, two days before the Armistice was declared at 11 o\' clock on November 11.

The Twenty fifth Conference of the Overseas YMCA War Secretaries was in progress. On passing her desk, a young soldier left a copy of the November Ladies Home Journal on Monia's desk. At about 10.30 a.m. when everyone was on duty elsewhere. Monia found a few moments to read the magazine. In it she came across a page which carried a vivid colour illustration for the poem “We shall Not Sleep” (later named; in Flanders Fields” by john McCrae.

Reading the poem on this occasion - she had read it many times before Monia was transfixed by the last verse - \"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.\"

In Moina\'s Book 'The Miracle Flower' she described the experience as deeply spiritual, and she felt as through she was actually being called in person by the voices, which had been silenced by death.

At that moment Moina made a personal pledge to wear red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance and as an emblem for 'keeping the faith with all who died\' Compelled to make a note of this pledge she hastily scribbled down a response on the back of a used envelope, entitled \'We Shall Keep the Faith\'.