Respect For Those Who Serve
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
It's Veterans Day. Once upon a time we called it Armistice Day. Remember, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It marked the end of World War I, the war to end all wars.
Today I wore a poppy in my lapel on TV. I remember as a kid buying poppies from the American Legion guys on the street corner. We all bought them. We all wore them.
The poppy come from the famous poem written by lt. Colonel John McCrae after a terrible battle in 1915:
"In Flanders Field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row..."
Across the U.K. and Canada November is Remembrance Month; that's why Prince Charles wore a poppy through his entire visit. Looking at pictures of Parliament in London this week, you wouldn't catch an MP without a poppy. Which shows people can disagree about war, its motives, its methods, but they can be united in respect for those who serve.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on manyCBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith