In November of every year, we are reminded to ‘remember’ and Remembrance Day itself is ‘lest we forget’. This is a poem of remembrance with much gratitude. I wrote this in November 2025.
Do you remember the sacrifices made by those who went to a war?
Do you remember all the men and women who gave it their all?
Do you remember those whose lives were then never the same?
Do you remember the faces of those who were there?
I remember a man who stood for freedom and fought in World War I
I remember a man who left his wife, children and life on a farm
I remember a man who faced the horrors and killings in fighting for others
I remember a man who was a brother-in-arms with thousands
I remember a man whose travel to Europe was not to sightsee but to fight in a war
I remember a man who marched for miles and then lived in trenches
I remember a man who wore a gas mask and had but a gun
I remember a man who saw men beside him get shot and die
I remember a man who left and came back another man
I remember a man who left his service overseas and stories untold
I remember a man whose loss and suffering was a piece of his soul
I remember a man who sacrificed for his country and human kind
My grandfather was this man. His face is that of one of the persons I remember.
My grandfather left my grandmother and their three children under the age of five for three years in order to answer the call to fight. He fought at Passchendaele, Lens (Hill 70), throughout France and was part of the occupying force in the Cologne area. He was awarded the Military Medal for his contributions and his attempts to save a fellow soldier in the battle at Hill 70. He came back and within weeks, saw his youngest child die of diptheria. He burned his uniform. He did not talk of his time in the war and sought a life away from the hustle and bustle.