Always Remember

Mummy and Daddy took me to a very special place today: the American Cemetery at Maddingley. We took the number 4 bus to the outskirts of Cambridge, and I fell asleep. Which was probably good, because then Mummy and Daddy had to walk another half a mile uphill in the rain to get there. I was safe, snug, and asleep in my buggy: just how I like it!

We got there just as a bunch of soldiers and their families finished a ceremony. Mummy said they have the ceremony at 11 o'clock because that's when World War One officially ended in 1918. There were a whole bunch of soldiers wearing their uniforms: I really liked that. Most of them were wearing blue uniforms; Daddy says that's because they are in the Air Force and there is an American Air Force Base nearby. Mostly I liked their hats and the shiny medals some of them were wearing. 

I was very good and quiet the whole time we were in the Cemetery. Mummy told me that the nice, warm feeling I had was the Holy Ghost. She said the Holy Ghost is very strong in places that are sacred. 

Mummy brought some flowers with us. This morning at breakfast, she explained that we take flowers to cemeteries to show the people that are buried there that we love them and that we remember them. She said that they look down from heaven and see that we are thinking about them and it makes them happy. She also said that taking flowers is a sign of respect, that it shows that we understand that we wouldn't have the wonderful lives we have without their sacrifice. 

When we got to the Cemetery, Daddy suggested we put the flowers by one of the crosses. There were so many! Hundreds of white crosses and a few shaped like a star (Mummy said they are called the "Star of David" and that they are for people who were Jewish). They were all in perfectly straight lines. It was beautiful. The cross Daddy wanted to put the flowers by was for an Unknown Soldier. Daddy said it would be nice to give them flowers, since their families have no idea what happened to them and they probably don't get flowers left by their graves very often. When he said that, Mummy started crying. 

We found a cross that said "Here Rests In Honored Glory A Comrade In Arms Known But To God." Mummy helped me put the flowers down by it and then explained to me what it means to be an Unknown Soldier. That means they couldn't tell who the man was when he died. 

We also went in to a chapel that had a place for people to pray. On the wall, was a big map that showed where all the fighting happened during World War Two. Mummy pointed out the places where Great-Great-Grandpa Schofield fought and showed me where the Pacific was, where Great-Grandpa Bruton fought.

When we were leaving, Mummy told me that one of the reasons she likes to go to the Maddingley Cemetery is that it reminds her of the friendship America has with Great Britain. She said that during World War 1 and World War 2, American and England fought together, as allies. She said I should always be proud to be an American, but that I should remember that we need our friends, too.