An English salute to Independence Day.
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 9:53 pm
Some of us come onto the board to josh and argue our pro and contra LDS points of view, some may be athiests, humanists or from other faiths. But tomorrow is The 4th of July, the day which commemorates the patriotic fight for freedom and liberty, when Americans fought for freedom against the armies of a tyrannical king.
Although a tiny baby as World War Two drew to a close, I visited today with American friends, from Mildenhall UK, the beautifully kept American Cemetery, at Madingley, Cambridge UK. Although, I had visited there at several times previously, it felt especially moving today, to walk around with currently serving military personnel and see these young men and women, both US and British pay their respects to those who had gone before in the fight for freedom.
There are 3,812 headstones marking the graves of the fallen, perhaps more moving still was the wall "tablets of the missing" which lists over 5,000 names of men who never came back. Americans will always be remembered in England, particularly those who paid the ultimate price.
Several English parish churches carry plaques and memorials to these fine young men. While we may sometimes squabble like spoilt kids over what is right and wrong, the USA and the UK have ties that cannot be broken.
All we have of freedom
all we use or know-
This our fathers bought
for us, long, long ago.
Rudyard Kipling 1899.
Happy 4th July from an Englishman.
http://www.madingleyamericancemetery.information/
Although a tiny baby as World War Two drew to a close, I visited today with American friends, from Mildenhall UK, the beautifully kept American Cemetery, at Madingley, Cambridge UK. Although, I had visited there at several times previously, it felt especially moving today, to walk around with currently serving military personnel and see these young men and women, both US and British pay their respects to those who had gone before in the fight for freedom.
There are 3,812 headstones marking the graves of the fallen, perhaps more moving still was the wall "tablets of the missing" which lists over 5,000 names of men who never came back. Americans will always be remembered in England, particularly those who paid the ultimate price.
Several English parish churches carry plaques and memorials to these fine young men. While we may sometimes squabble like spoilt kids over what is right and wrong, the USA and the UK have ties that cannot be broken.
All we have of freedom
all we use or know-
This our fathers bought
for us, long, long ago.
Rudyard Kipling 1899.
Happy 4th July from an Englishman.
http://www.madingleyamericancemetery.information/
