Old men forget
Just words I guess, powerful to some and silly to others…
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Ol’ Willie nailed it and today is the Feast Day. That thread that binds most of us here together is not yet broken.
ETA: I’ve been told my posts tend to be terse and/or obscure. With this one I acknowledge that criticism and embrace it as well.
If you need Google-fu to get it that ain’t a bad thing. I’ve always loathed to be talked down to myself. Thanks Folks.
Category: Geezer Alert!
I’m closer to my Ranger buddies than with my own family (other than my wife).
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=st.+crispin's+day+speech&mid=7E41A102AD697E742B457E41A102AD697E742B45&view=detail&FORM=VIRE2
Watch the whole thing.
More than words!
For those like me who needs edumication (from Wiki):
Saint Crispin’s Day falls on 25 October and is the feast day of the Christian saints Crispin and Crispinian (also known as Crispinus and Crispianus, though this spelling has fallen out of favour), twins who were martyred c. 286.[1] It is a day most famous for the battles that occurred on it: the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the Battle of Balaklava (Charge of the Light Brigade) during the Crimean War in 1854 and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific theatre in 1944. The Battle of Agincourt was dramatised by Shakespeare in Henry V featuring the St. Crispin’s Day Speech in which Henry inspired his much outnumbered English forces to fight the French saying “the fewer men, the greater share of honour”.
Ex-PH2 #2: Considered putting that up in the post. In truth I kinda fancy this one:
http://youtu.be/luqr-UX_oSM
EX-PH2 great clip from a great movie!
I am a Crispian!! And, 29 years ago today, I made it to Ft. Jackson…
Whichever clip you watch, the message stays the same; that history names the warrior throughout time, and those that stayed behind in fear are soon forgot.
Apologies for sounding like a pompous ass. It’s my father’s influence – one Shakespearean production per year for his students.
Specifically in 1944, the Battle off Samar in which the 6 carrier escorts, 3 destroyers, and 4 destroyer escorts of TAFFY III fought off the 4 battleships, 8 cruisers, and 11 destroyers of the IJN First Strike Force. See http://www.bosamar.com/pages/home
And I feel closer with anyone who wears dolphins than my own family (except my wife, who went through it all with me)…
Old men seem not to entirely forget. It is a distinct honor to be among those who do not.
Ex-Ph2 , Nothing wrong with a little Shakespear! Oh course, I like Chaucer as well.
I am closer to my fellow EOD Brothers and Sisters than anyone in my family. For that matter anyone that has worn a military uniform knows me better than my Family.
Here is the real King Henry’s effigy:
http://theplantagenets.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/king2.jpg
And, lest we forget, there is another Prince Harry in the field at this time.
Jeebez, I love this blog. I have actually learned quite a bit since coming here.
Next time I see someone comment about how people join the Military because we are too stupid to do anything else I’m am going to post a link to this thread.
“And hold their manhoods cheap”
Thus motivating liars to claim Stolen Valor for centuries…..
Along with my several years of traditional Latin, I had several semesters of Shakespeare as well….great post for today Zero!
“And hold their manhoods cheap”
GREAT LINE
Ah! Then you know that the spelling of ‘non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomine tuo da gloria” as sung should more properly be ‘non nobis Domine non nobis, sed nomini Tuo da gloriam’.
But it still makes your heart swell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXXuEel0fU
And the soldier that Henry gives the gloves to is the soldier who loaned them to the cloaked stranger at the fire the night before Agincourt.
I had the privilege of being a member of the American Renaissance Theater for 6 years. We performed all of Shakespeare’s history plays in their chronological order. starting with Richard II, then the two parts of Henry IV, then Henry V, etc.
I dearly loved our production of Henry V. I wrote & recorded the overture and interludes for it, and also was cast as the King of France. About 2 weeks before we opened, the fellow playing the Archbishop of Canterbury got sick, and the director asked if I’d be willing to take the part as well. I was floored, as it meant a dual role, with different costumes, and this huge pedantic speech at the opening.
I took it, because I couldn’t say no, and in the end it worked out very well. But I never want to have to do that again live. 🙂
The whole production is, to my mind, the best one of Shakespeare’s works, because it speaks to us on so many levels. It is the story of what it means to be a king, what defines a good ruler. It also defines what a good soldier should be, and how he must be held to account for when he crosses the line from a soldier who must needs be violent in combat, to becoming a murderer or thief, looting at will.
It talks about the relationships between the king and his subjects, of honor and courage, of how a nation should see itself.
If you read nothing else from him, read Henry V. Better yet, see it performed either on stage or watch either of the movies. You will see that the bond between soldiers, “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers” is as old as time, and as distinct to us as anything else we have.
Sorry for the ramble.
V/R
Please see my add to the post. Emphasizes my thanks.
Kudos, Zero.
@17 No need to apologize Tim, a good back story that dis-spells the popular notion of service members as un or under educated always brightens my day.
Professor Hondo with his economics lessons, EX-PH2 holding our feet to the grammatical fire, and the general lack of leniency for unmitigated bullsh1t at this site proves the point every day to those willing to learn. Adding some cultural diversity just sweetens the mix. Our service members are as diverse if not more so than our culture at large, and due to their working proximity on a daily basis free of most popular misperceptions held by our society at large.
@ AW1 …. so your a thespian too?
We Navy are cultured!
“I had the privilege of being a member of the American Renaissance Theater for 6 years. We performed all of Shakespeare’s history plays in their chronological order. starting with Richard II, then the two parts of Henry IV, then Henry V, etc.”
Oh crap… cue The Village People.
Chief #21. Your name is pretentious ya know. Anyone who has even visited The Goat Locker has enough respect for a Chief without the rest.
Sadly I was also a Thespian. As You Like It, Androcles and the lion, etc.
Quit football (in high school) because of it. Pretty girls and gay guys. Who could ask for anything more.
Probably my favorite Shakespeare play, with Richard III being a close second.
As a paratrooper, I’ve always been fond of the Gates of Harfleur speech, too.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”
@ 22 … hardly pretentious.
I am MCPO, who lives in NYC, that served in the USN, and who is now (Ret.) after 32 years.
What does pretentious mean? I am neither intelligent nor am well versed in much other than comic books and techical manuals for Briggs & Stratton gas engines.
Whoops that might not have been Harfleur. Wasn’t the Harfleur speech the one where Henry was talking in painful detail about what would happen to the French village if they didn’t surrender?
Oh …half blind and can’t spel four sh*t iether.
MCPO, don’t worry. My only experience of being a thespian is when I played in “Lil Abner” and South “Pacific” in high school.
I am the token knuckle dragger at TAH 🙂
We did A Midsummer’s Nights Dream too many time for me to want to remember. But this quote always chokes me up. Wife doesn’t get it. But hey…
My favorite Shakespeare play is the double reverse. Talk about suspense, surprise, and entertainment!
Chief #24: meant no disrespect. When I was in the E7 was IT.
“Let me speak proudly: tell the constable
We are but warriors for the working-day;
Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirch’d
With rainy marching in the painful field;
There’s not a piece of feather in our host–
Good argument, I hope, we will not fly–
And time hath worn us into slovenry:
But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim;
And my poor soldiers tell me, yet ere night
They’ll be in fresher robes”
Still my favorite.
@ 30 … no problemos … that is PR for I’ll do it tomorrow!
I was in the Army for 20, but never saw battle or was ever shot at or had to return fire. I’ve forgotten 99% of those I ever served with.
But the St Crispin’s Day speech will always move me to tears. The day it doesn’t, is the day I’m dead and buried. Even then, I’ll probably be weeping over it at St Peter’s Gate.