Veterans Day; My Boy Jack
Posted in Current Events by John E. Pannell on November 11th, 2006 at 11:00 am Today is Veterans Day in the United States, the day we honor and remember all who have served in our country’s armed forces. Please take a moment to thank the veterans you know. Without their sacrifices, the United States we know today might not exist.
This date also marks the end of World War I.
According to http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/this_day_in_history/this_day_November_11.php:
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. Germany, bereft of manpower, supplies, and food, signs an armistice agreement with the Allies. The war left 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, some 6 million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. World War I led to the fall of the imperial dynasties of Russia, Germany, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary, and spurred the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles officially ended the conflict, but its punitive terms destabilized Europe and laid the groundwork for World War II.
These numbers are shocking, even moreso when you consider the much smaller populations of those nations, and ours, when compared to today’s.
Rudyard Kipling was a well known British author of the late 19th and early 20th century. Among his works was Jungle Book, which was the original inspiration for Cub Scouting in the UK and many countries around the world. Kipling’s only son, John, aka Jack, was killed at the Battle of Loos in September, 1915. Also among the dead was Fergus Bowes-Lyon, a brother to the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, of the United Kingdom. Jack’s remains were not recovered until many years later, after Rudyard Kipling had died.
Kipling wrote this poem in 1916 in memory of his son. Given the times we live in, I thought this worth sharing here.
My Boy Jack
‘Have you news of my boy Jack?
Not this tide.
‘When d’you think that he’ll come back?’
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.‘Has any one else had word of him?’
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.‘Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?’
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind -
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!
Kipling remembers that, while nothing can take away a parent’s agony over the loss of a child, his son died honorably and not in vain.
This remains so, especially now that since there is no longer a draft our military is composed entirely of volunteers. They are not failures, scholastic flunkies, or the dregs of society that could find no other gainful employment. Rather they are honorable men and women who have volunteered to serve and defend our nation. Today we honor those who have served in years past. Let us also remember well those who serve today.
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