Thursday, November 11, 2021

High Flight

Another Remembrance Day has passed. I always find it a somber and sad day. One of my earliest childhood memories would be of a Remembrance Day service at Camp Chilliwack. I was three or fours years old. 

This is a photo of the war memorial to Royal Air Force squadrons based at RAF Wickenby during the Second World War. 




Sculpture of Icarus by Margarita Wood ARCA, lettering by Ralph Beyer. Unveiled 1981. 

My father served with 626 Squadron during the winter of 1944. The squadron lost 49 planes in operations leading to the liberation of Europe. Bless all who served. 



High Flight 
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of --Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew --
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

1 comment:

  1. Hi, Rob. Been threatening to click 'reply' for a while now, and since you're "standing right beside me" in Ross's 'Another Empty Chair' post, I figure I'd slot this under "reflecting on cherished memories."

    Ross tells me you've moved on from Halifax to Montreal (in accounting.)
    I currently live in Calgary now since Sep 2001. Still never made it to Vulcan, AB, though.
    :(

    I thought I'd 'reply' from your blogsite's most recent post since Ross's "funeral" post seems a bit "inappropriate" to be whispering in the church pew...only to find this post about Remembrance Day. :\

    brusilov50
    aka Bruce [Fiolek]
    aka your fave [1992-1993] lobby rent-a-cop from your Suisha Gardens days

    ReplyDelete