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1. 

   BillThompson said, 6 months ago

   Good one, Pab.
2. 

   Fairportfan2 said, 6 months ago

   the cruel war was over — oh, the triumph was so sweet!
   we watched the troops returning, through our tears;
   there was triumph, triumph, triumph down the scarlet glittering street,
   and you scarce could hear the music for the cheers.
   and you scarce could see the house-tops for the flags that flew between;
   the bells were pealing madly to the sky;
   and everyone was shouting for the soldiers of the queen,
   and the glory of an age was passing by.
   .
   and then there came a shadow, swift and sudden, dark and drear;
   the bells were silent, not an echo stirred.
   the flags were drooping sullenly, the men forgot to cheer;
   we waited, and we never spoke a word.
   the sky grew darker, darker, till from out the gloomy rack
   there came a voice that checked the heart with dread:
   “tear down, tear down your bunting now, and hang up sable black;
   they are coming — it’s the army of the dead.”
   .
   they were coming, they were coming, gaunt and ghastly, sad and slow;
   they were coming, all the crimson wrecks of pride;
   with faces seared, and cheeks red smeared, and haunting eyes of woe,
   and clotted holes the khaki couldn’t hide.
   oh, the clammy brow of anguish! the livid, foam-flecked lips!
   the reeling ranks of ruin swept along!
   the limb that trailed, the hand that failed, the bloody finger tips!
   and oh, the dreary rhythm of their song!
   .
   “they left us on the veldt-side, but we felt we couldn’t stop
   on this, our england’s crowning festal day;
   we’re the men of magersfontein, we’re the men of spion kop,
   colenso — we’re the men who had to pay.
   we’re the men who paid the blood-price. shall the grave be all our gain?
   you owe us. long and heavy is the score.
   then cheer us for our glory now, and cheer us for our pain,
   and cheer us as ye never cheered before.”
   .
   the folks were white and stricken, and each tongue seemed weighted with lead;
   each heart was clutched in hollow hand of ice;
   and every eye was staring at the horror of the dead,
   the pity of the men who paid the price.
   they were come, were come to mock us, in the first flush of our peace;
   through writhing lips their teeth were all agleam;
   they were coming in their thousands — oh, would they never cease!
   i closed my eyes, and then — it was a dream.
   .
   there was triumph, triumph, triumph down the scarlet gleaming street;
   the town was mad; a man was like a boy.
   a thousand flags were flaming where the sky and city meet;
   a thousand bells were thundering the joy.
   there was music, mirth and sunshine; but some eyes shone with regret;
   and while we stun with cheers our homing braves,
   o god, in thy great mercy, let us nevermore forget
   the graves they left behind, the bitter graves.
   .
   http://electronictiger.net/avail/march2.mp3
3. 

   1effinday said, 6 months ago

   @Fairportfan2 That is amazing! Love the mp3. Who is the singer?
4. 

   SherlockWatson said, 6 months ago

   Within this strip is an image that many people today have never seen before, and may never see again… a 22-cent stamp!
   But seriously, Pab, Bravo.
5. 

   randayn said, 6 months ago

   You rock today, Pab.
6. 

   vwdualnomand said, 6 months ago

   veterans are true heroes. from fighting in the trenches on the western front to the streets of fallujah, they deserve all the thanks from a grateful public. if you know a vet, buy them a drink. and, we as a society should do more for vets, if that means helping them to find jobs, paying for their education, taking care of their medical and psychological needs, and finding them housing.
7. 

   Fairportfan2 said, 6 months ago

   @1effinday

   That’s Country Joe McDonald, from his album “War War War” – his settings of several of the World War One poems of Robert W Service. (Though “March of the Dead” refers to the Boer War.)
8. 

   Fairportfan2 said, 6 months ago

   Robert W Service – author of “The Cremation of Sam McGee”and “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” – served as an ambulance driver in WW1.
   ..
   He wrote a number of poems inspired by the war.
   .
   Country Joe McDonald’s “War War War”, setting several of them to music, is an excellent introduction, but any and all of Service’s poetry is worth hunting up.
9. 

   baleyeman42 said, 6 months ago

   “Take up our quarrel with the foe”? Oh yeah that’s a great message for this day of all days… Can we please just remember all those who have fallen in senseless wars over the centuries. ALL of them.
10. 

    SUSAN NEWMAN said, 6 months ago

    This is the ONLY strip I’ve seen that honors Veteran’s Day.
    Thanks, Pab.
11. 

    Peam said, 6 months ago

    Amen
12. 

    baleyeman42 said, 6 months ago

    @SUSAN NEWMAN

    Seen a coupla others “Wizard of Id” and “Herb and Jamaal”
13. 

    NathandeGargoyle said, 6 months ago

    Just watched the Remembrance Day parade in London (on the telly).
    They should make the Royals and the politicians watch and wait while the veterans place their wreaths rather than the other way round!
14. 

    Ms. Ima said, 6 months ago

    Let us never forget those that died to end military takeover of land and people.
15. 

    lessa49002 said, 6 months ago

    A few other comics that are either directly or indirectly about Veterans Day are Grey Matters Doonesbury, LuAnn, Red and Rover, and The Other Coast. All are available here on GoComics.
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