REMEMBERING FALLEN HEROES

Nov 12, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Tomorrow, Guyana will officially honour and pay tribute to the men and women who died during the two World Wars and other conflicts. Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, is commemorated on November 11th each year by most countries, to mark the end of World War I in 1918.
According to the Guyana Legion, which comprises ex-military officers and present day military retirees, Remembrance Day is observed in Guyana annually on the Sunday closest to November 11.
Prior to the end of World War II, the day was known as Armistice Day, but was renamed Remembrance Day in 1945. Remembrance Day was established to observe the truce signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente (Anglo-French Alliance between France and the United Kingdom) at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, to officially signal the end of World War I.
Red Poppies are worn on Remembrance Day in most countries, including Guyana, as a symbol of sacrifice and as an emblem of remembrance of the men and women who served and made the ultimate sacrifice in the different wars. Poppy is a white flower, but this symbolic red flower represents the blood that stained the flowers on the battlefield during the First World War.
As a tradition, Poppy Day originated from a poem titled “In Flanders Field” by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a doctor in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps. Colonel McCrae’s’ poem was inspired by the fact that despite the massive devastation caused by the war on several towns, villages, farms and forests, thousands of small red poppies sprang up everywhere in the Spring. Wearing a poppy is a sign of respect for fallen heroes.
The nation should be reminded that our brave men and women fought in wars in such far-off places as Egypt, France, Belgium and East Africa. In Guyana, the day is marked by parades of the country’s uniformed ranks in Georgetown, New Amsterdam, Linden and several other towns.
However, the biggest activity is normally held in the nation’s capital at the Cenotaph.
The Cenotaph is a national war memorial monument in Georgetown, located in front of the Bank of Guyana building, at the junction of Church and Main Streets. It was unveiled on August 14, 1923, by the then Governor Graeme Thompson and the first Armistice Day observance took place at the Monument that same year. The impressive bronze sculpture, designed by Mr. Ivor Thom, was erected in honour of Damon, an enslaved domestic labourer who was executed for protesting against the system of apprenticeship.
The four words: Devotion, Humanity, Fortitude, and Sacrifice are inscribed on the four faces of the Cenotaph. Remembrance Day is filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory which upheld the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed forces.
Persons who customarily attend in an official capacity (inclusive of wreath-laying) are the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief of Staff, the Commissioner of Police, leader of the Opposition, President of the Guyana Legion, the Mayor of Georgetown, the Heads of Missions, and Representatives of the Guyana Ex-Soldiers’ Benevolent Association and Ex-GDF Association of Guyana.
Other Persons/Organisations wishing to lay wreaths on that day, may do so after the end of the Service.
Scores of Guyanese are also expected to turn out to remember the contributions of the fallen heroes. In most cases, the ceremony will begin with a two-minute silence followed by speeches by the Head of State, who is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries.
It is essential that we all continue to remember our fallen heroes.

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