U.S. Military
HONORS! || Information about the
epitaph provided by Derek Lawbuary
All
Gave Some - Some Gave All || A brief
history of the Kohima Battle |
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The
words in the famous Kohima Epitaph
Some additional
background about the epitaph, it's origins and the Kohima Battle
history. |
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Information was organized and placed
here by me in March 2001 and was somewhat updated in April 2009.
Please notify me of any other relevant sources to Mr. Edmonds' penning
of these now famous lines. |
Send
info here Thank you
Sid Harrison April 2009 |
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Kohima memorial images search via
images.info.com
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Sid note:
This famous epitaph is found on numerous
Veteran Memorials and Monuments throughout the world. It is also found
on many internet websites for veterans ranging from India, Australia, UK,
United States and very likely on non-English veteran websites as well.
In nearly all instances the words cite
the origin as being from the Kohima Epitaph. Although that memorial is
the most well known, the lines pre-date the inscription on that WWII memorial.
I have assembled some of the material
from my internet search below. Several of which cite John Maxwell Edmonds
as the original author of those lines.
I have presented material here from
a few internet sources. Again, for the reason that sources on the web often
blink off and are lost. The copied versions are presented here solely for
informational and educational purpose with no intent to plagiarize.
It is my opinion that the lines of that
epitaph
are some of the most moving lines written about veterans. They state very
succintly what it is that each veteran gave to his fellow citizens, i.e.
all of their tomorrows.
It also seems fitting that Mr. Edmonds,
who wrote those famous lines, should be cited as the author.
In some of the quotes the epitaph reads
"your tomorrow" vs "their tomorrow". |
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According to the (now defunct) BIBLIOTHECA
website, Edmonds' original did include the phrase "their tomorrow".
The following is an excerpt from the
no longer existant web site:
This
(BIBLIOTHECA) site is devoted to all aspects of military history and the
sentiment of the site is best expressed by Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC)
the greek lyric poet who, after the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, wrote
as a memorial to the valiant defenders ;
'Go
tell the spartans,
Thou that passeth
by,
That faithful
to their precepts,
Here we lie'
These sentiments
were later used by John Maxwell Edmonds [1875 - 1958] as part of a collection
of 12 epitaphs for World War One
'When
You Go Home,
Tell Them Of
Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow,
We gave Our
Today'.
Note: Try your luck at finding a "cached"
copy of the old BIBLIOTHECA website HERE |
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Who was SIMONIDES OF
CEOS? Search results:
http://research.info.com/searchw?qkw=Simonides+of+Ceos
http://info.com/searchw?qkw="Simonides+of+Ceos"+Kohima
http://research.info.com/searchw?qkw=Battle+of+Kohima
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Searching for more internet
references.
Using a good search
engine you can plug in various key-words or phrases and find many of
the pages that mention the "Kohima Epitaph" or John Maxwell Edmonds.
Here are just a few: |
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RefSource - 1 |
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The following was copied from
http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/historical-events/historical-sikh-events-sikhs-in-world-war-ii.html
The Kohima Epitaph
In March 1944, the Japanese 31st Division
moved northwestward in Burma, swept through the Naga hills, invaded India,
and fell upon Imphal and Kohima. Confidently the Japanese planned to press
toward the India Plains. The Allies in the CBI Theater faced a disaster
of monumental proportions unless the enemy was stopped.
A crucial battle ensued at Kohima where
some 2,500 British Empire troops came under siege. They fought a formidable
Japanese force numbering 15,000 soldiers supported by 10,000 ammunition
laden oxen. For weeks the belligerents sparred in bloody artillery duels
interrupted only by hand to hand skirmishes and bayonet attacks. Finally,
after 64 days, amid terrible losses on both sides, the Japanese were beaten
back.
They withdrew from Kohima. Japan’s dominance
in northern Burma had begun its crumble. Understandingly, the determination
and gallantry shown by allied troops in the Kohima siege was quick to become
the subject of poem, song, and legend.
Today in the Kohima cemetery, among
the 1,378 grave markers, is the famous Kohima Memorial with its historic
inscription: |
"When you go home
Tell them of us, and say,
For their tomorrow
We gave our today"
Kohima Epitaph
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RefSource - 2 |
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The following was copied from http://research.info.com/searchw?qkw=Went+The+Day+Well?
Went the day well?
We died and never knew
But, well or ill.
Freedom, we died for you
Went the day well?
The epitaph is by the Greek scholar John
Maxwell Edmonds, and originally appeared in The Times(UK) dated February
6th 1918, page 7, under a short section headed Four Epitaphs.
It is the second of four epitaphs composed
for graves and memorials to those fallen in battle – each covering different
situations of death. The second epitaph is headed:
On Some who died early in the
Day of Battle
Went the day well? We died and never
knew;
But well or ill, England, we died for
you.
After the above date, the epitaph is regularly
quoted in 'The Times’ notification of deaths section in connection with
those who have fallen during the First World War. It appears again regularly
during the Second World War.
Inscriptions suggested for war memorials,
published in 1919, lists 'Went the day well' along with Edmonds’ other
epitaphs, after which it appears on numerous town war memorials.
FOUR
EPITAPHS
by
J. M. EDMONDS
For a general grave on Vimy
Ridge.
You come
from England; is she England still?
Yes, thanks to
you that died upon this hill.
On some who died early on the eve of battle.
Went the
day well? we died and never knew ;
But well or ill,
England, we died for you.
On, those who died at the Battle of Jutland.
Proud we
went down, and there content we lie
'Neath English
sea if not 'neath English sky.
For a village war-memorial.
Ye that
live on 'mid English pastures green,
Remember us, and
think what might have been.
Copied from the INTERNET
ARCHIVES |
There has been confusion between 'Went
the day well' and Edmonds’ other famous epitaph published in the same 1919
edition of inscriptions:
When you go home, tell them
of us and say,
“For your tomorrows these gave their
today.”
It is 'When you go home ...' that is inspired
by an epigram by the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos to the fallen at the
Battle of Thermopalye, and was later used used (with a misquote) for the
memorial for those who fell at the Battle of Kohima. Some resources incorrectly
give 'Went the day well' as being the translation of the Simonides epigram.
In some quarters, 'Went the day well'
has been incorrectly married up with “When you go home …”:
When you go home, tell them
of us and say,
For your tomorrow, these gave their
today.
Went the day well? We died and never
knew,
But, well or ill, freedom, we died
for you.
'Went the day well' appears in an unidentified
newspaper cutting in a scrapbook now held in the RAF Museum (AC97/127/50)
and in a book called Voices of Silence, a collection of first world war
poems put together by Vivian Noakes. The poems appear in chronological
order and this appears under the heading “Verdun, The Battle of the Somme
begins. |
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RefSource - 3 |
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The following was copied from
http://www.webindia123.com/NAGALAND/TOURISM/Tourism.htm
Kohima
The Second World War Cemetery
The Kohima war cemetery is serene and
beautiful. Roses bloom in season, the grass is always billiard-table smooth
and two tall crosses stand at the lowest and highest points of the cemetery
overlooking Kohima. between them, and stretching all the way across this
gently rising hill in the centre of the town, are stone markers with shining
bronze plaques. Each commemorates the name of a single man who gave his
life for freedom. At the base of the. upper cross there is an inscription
which says :
"Here, around the tennis court
of the deputy commissioner the men who fought in the battle of Kohima in
which they and their comrades finally halted the invasion of India by the
forces of Japan in April 1944".
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Additional Edmonds References:
The following are the results of internet
searches for J.M. Edmonds.
They cite several of his academic works.
Mainly translations of ancient documents.
S.Harrison |
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Theocritus. "The Women at the
Adonis Festival" Idyll XV. The Greek Bucolic Poets. Trans. J.M. Edmonds.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950 (The Loeb Classical Library).
The Greek bucolic poets. [Rev.] ed.
Translated by J.M. Edmonds. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1970,c1928. xxviii, 526 p. Annotated no. 645 English and Greek on opposing
pages.
The Idylls. Translated by J. M. Edmonds.
In The Loeb Classical Library The Greek Bucolic Poets. 1912. Reprint. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1938.
Epigrams, translated by J. M. Edmonds,
rev. John M. Cooper
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