I borrowed this last year off a page member from the old baor page and I cant recall his name so cant credit him, Its an amazing story and still brings a tear when I read it I read through my 14 year old Grand daughters homework last night, just to check her spelling and stuff and come across this for her English essay I thought Id pass this on, from a 14 year olds point of view My GrandDad wears this battered old leather jacket with a couple of pin badges on it, one is from the Regiment he served with in the Army and the other is a badge with a soldier on it with the words lest we Forget Now my Grand Dad likes to pretend he is all hard and crusty and stuff, be he really is a big softee, But he has rules which you have to follow and if you break them rules he is pretty mean, but if you stay inside the rules, he is funny, charismatic and charming and also pretty forgiving, and sometimes he can be pretty annoying to, but like he says he is my Grand dad and my Guardian so I have to put up with it. but getting back to my theme I asked Grand dad what does lest we forget mean. he gave me one of his funny/disgusted with me looks and said there is a saying They shall not grow old, As we, that are left grow old, Nor the years condemn, For at the going down of the Sun, and in the morning, we will Remember them Now let me explain that to you pet, They shall not grow old means they died at ages not much older that you, a few years, but not much, and they died so that you can enjoy the freedoms that you enjoy every day and they died serving their country in the belief that what they were doing was right and just so you could enjoy those freedoms as we, that are left grow old Well pet, that is the likes of me, I was one of the lucky ones, who served their country the same as they did, but never got hurt and did my time and got out, but their were many young men in world war 1 and 2 who never came home, the same in other wars like korea and places like that and me in Northern Ireland, I came home pet, a lot never did Nor the years condemn well that means that what they did was right and justified, They did their bit for King/Queen and country believing their political masters and obeying the orders they were given by their officers believing that they were right and lawful and some good would come out of their actions, Some paid the ultimate price, some paid a little, and some are paying now for what they did and didnt do, they should not be condemned for doing their duty At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them Well sweeetie, that means that everything that you enjoy doing, like going to school and learning what you need to learn and being able to watch what you want on TV and going out and stuff all cost something, It was not the King or Queen that fought for those rights, nor the politicians that you see on TV everyday, It was Soldiers, Sailors and Airman that won you those rights, and some of them, it was the ultimate price that was paid to get them, that is why we will remember them That is why I wear my badge with lest we Forget on it And young men and women this very second are doing their job all around the world to ensure that YOU enjoy the life that you have with its freedoms and choices, this very second, remember that too So pet, lest we forget Well I copied every word that he said to me and thought about what he said and it made me realise that freedom does come at a cost, so does Law and Order and so does Education and all the other things my generation enjoy. it came at the cost of young lives defending our way of life and it also made me think that my Aunt, my grand Dads youngest daughter, is training to be an officer in the Army and hope that she does not pay a price I hope my dear dear granddad dont mind, but I stole his Lest we forget badge and am now wearing it on my coat, I am sure he wont mind, but if he does Ill have to get him a new one, he may sound off a bit at me for nicking it, But they will be that twinkle in his eyes that mean that really he is proud of me, not for nicking it, but for wearing something of his that means so much to him. I am proud to call my GranDad , Grand Dad, I am proud that he served our country, I am proud that he wears that battered old leather jacket, even if it does look scruffy and old, It means something to him and he means something to me love ya OG well i corrected some of the spellings for her and was I choked, you betcha life
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 13:41:34 +0000