They Shall Never Grow Old... We Will Remember Them.

The cold biting wind swirled around my face, it was little surprise as this time of year was always cold; but each year seemed to be getting colder and colder. Having said that, it was clearly nothing in comparison to what those brave men and women went through; they clearly had it tough.

Each year was the same every since I first joined St. John, each year I would gladly; willingly give up one of my Sunday mornings in early November to pay my respect, my homage to the fallen. And I was not the only "young 'un" who did this, many of my friends and colleagues felt the same; this was not just part of "our duty..." we believed this was our way to show the proper respect and thanks to those heroes.

Of course mixed in with us "young 'uns" was the smattering of our older members many of whom had been directly involved with WWII, but then with such an major moment in time and history it was hard to find someone that had NOT been affected by such a cataclysmic event. Yes it was true, even the Great War to end all wars did not stop this from happening again.

My Mum always said that we never learned from our past mistakes, and she was right; it was history repeating itself. All those lives lost in the first world war taught us nothing, we went and did it again; and again; and again... Would we ever learn?

But our brave fighting men and women will tell you that it is their job and they are there to serve, to protect our lands. And while it is true, it still should not detract from the fact all those souls were lost. No matter how much I tried I could not get away from the fact, young men (and women) were dying for me and my freedom.

Men younger than me, men that had lied about their ages to willingly join up and volunteer to serve their Country. The courage and sacrifice those brave heroes showed should never be forgotten, each and every one of us owe those men (and women) such a huge debt of gratitude. When asked why I bother standing in the freezing cold on a Sunday in November, I simply reply:

For our today, they gave their tomorrow.