... and in the going down of the sun

and in the morning

We will remember them ...

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we observe a 2 minute silence. It's a ritual I never forget. I give thanks to all service personnel, past and present, who have served our country in times of conflict and peace. Without their bravery, loyalty and sense of duty, this world would be a vastly different place. It's easy to take for granted the freedoms we have today. It's easy to live for today and brush aside yesterday. I will not forget I am part of a forces family.

10 year old Athena Nicholas will never forget either. Her father, Flight Lieutenant Gareth Nicholas died in Afghanistan when his Nimrod plane, from RAF Kinloss, crashed near Kandahar earlier this year. Here is her poem to her dad

My dad
By Athena Nicholas

He was a great Father for every good Reason, I wish he was still alive. He would still be with me if it hadn't gone wrong,

I wish he had survived.
I feel like it was all a dream.

But it's not what it seems. That he's still with me in my heart.

And in my sad sad dreams.

I'm crying at this moment.

But I can't stop now. I wish he was still with me.

And he's whispering in the clouds.

I will visit you in your dreams.

And we shall roam free. Playing in the grassy fields.

Definitely You and Me.