Barry J. Phillips

WE FORMED UP IN THREES

Canadian Airborne Regiment Crest and Jump Wings

Canadian Airborne Regiment
Crest and Jump WingsWe formed up in threes
shoulder to shoulder, eyes straight ahead
as a soldier should be.
With the vets and the Legion all dressed in blue,
we stood apart in maroon berets and blazers
with ribbons and medals glittering in the sun
reflecting the many years of service
to our Queen,
to our country.

Paratroopers on parade,
shoulders back and heads held high:
golden jump wings worn with pride.
Marching once more with our colours,
Canada’s Airborne brotherhood
once more before the public eye.

It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of November.
Last Post sounded for all to stand silent,
With heads bowed to remember
brave men who had gone before.
From D Day and the Rhine Crossing,
to Anzio and Monte La Difensa,
Up through the years to the present.
Through Cyprus to Afghanistan and Somalia:
Canada’s best soldiers – Airborne and strong. Elite.

Soldiers and statesmen from nations far and wide
All praised our paras.
They won accolades and honour
For themselves and two flags;
the Regiment’s and Canada

But more than the men are remembered
on this most solemn of days.
For the Regiment too was lost.
A soldier had strayed;
his weakness had slipped through the cracks.
So worried men in Ottawa, not knowing the facts,
made a terrible decision.
They dismissed the very best of the best.

So now we remember.
We remember and mourn
The men and the Regiment.
Ex Coelis. Airborne.

“We will remember them”