I never met him. Yet I still remember
him. I don’t know if he served at the Somme, in Belgium or somewhere in East
Africa. Yet his service means a lot to me. I am yet to see his name on the
rolls at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, but his name has a special place in my
heart.
Alec
McTaggart was my maternal grandmother’s eldest brother, who served in the
British Army during the Great War (more commonly known as the First World War.)
When he returned from the war in 1919, my grandmother was about 7 years old. He
joyfully hoisted her up into his arms as he stood at the threshold of the
family home in Jamaica. But he never talked about his war experience; in those
days, the veterans rarely talked about it, even to their own families. About 40
years later, Uncle Alec died of a heart attack while he was running to catch a
city bus.
From
an early age, I was taught to acknowledge the great sacrifice that he and many
other soldiers gave, especially the ones who never returned home and who sleep
in the earth of foreign lands. It is in Uncle Alec’s memory and in memoriam of
other servicemen and women that I wear a red poppy.
Every
year, I begin wearing the red poppy starting on November 1, All
Saints’ Day, and every day through Veterans’ Day, November 11. I
like to think of those 11 days as “Remembrance-tide,” when the Church remembers
our faithful saints who died in service to God, and also embraces our loved
ones who have gone on before us, including the many who died in service to our
country.
We
remember the saints and those who live on in our hearts the same way we
remember our Lord Jesus. For example, none of us here present lived in the
first century when he walked the earth as a human being. Yet we continue to
recall his compassionate actions and life-changing teachings through the
Gospels. We can think of our loved ones who have died by being “rememorative,”
(Kenneth Leech, We Preach Christ Crucified): remembering them by
standing with them and recalling their love for us and their courageous works.
The
military tradition continues in our family with the addition of Master Sgt.
Todd Johnson, my twin sister’s husband, who retired from the Army a few years
ago. I salute all service members, veterans and current, and thank you for your
acts of courage and sacrifice. May God bless you and keep you ever mindful of
God’s faithfulness. This poppy is for you.
The Rev. Lorna H. Williams
Associate Rector for Children & Youth
