‘When you go home, tell them of us’
The poppy worn by many on Armistice Day is an enduring symbol of remembrance.
Brightly coloured wreaths tell a silent story of the M.O.T.H. Coalfields District annual Armistice Day Parade.
The parade and the march to the cenotaph took place on November 11 at the M.O.T.H. Cottages.
District Old Bill Dion Slabbert read an emotional poem by James Edmonds from 1919, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
Slabbert said in WW1, over 18 million men, women, and children lost their lives.
“WW2 was born in the ashes of WW1, where an estimated 70 million to 85 million people lost their lives from war and war-related diseases. Over 50% of WW2 casualties were civilians, with the majority being women and children.
From South Africa, 334 000 South African troops volunteered for full service in the SA Army during WW2, of which over 11 000 died. The last soldier to die in combat in the border war was Corporal Hermann Carstens from the 1 Reconnaissance regiment.
He was killed in action on April 4, 1989, during fierce close-quarter fighting with a numerically superior force of heavily armed SWAPO insurgents,” Slabbert said.
He added the SA Border War stretched over 23 years, six months, and two days, with 2 284 South African casualties.
“The second Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War of the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on August 2, 1998, in the DRC.
The conflict expanded, drawing in nine African nations and approximately 25 armed groups, making it one of the largest wars in African history.
This war caused an estimated 5.4 million deaths, making it the deadliest conflict since WW2,” Slabbert said.
Slabbert thanked everyone for the respect shown to the fallen heroes and placed a wreath at the cenotaph.
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