"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
By Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, First Canadian contingent
Died in France on January 28, 1918
Today, Memorial Day, is not about picnics, or barbeque, or auto racing, or shopping, or going to Disneyland. Today is about remembering Flanders fields...
Memorial Day is a sacred day of remembrance for Americans. And not just by military and military families. By everyone, most especially those of us who love peace. Today, above all other days, we should set aside as a time to remember and honor those who rest in Flanders fields, and the many fields that span our history. Without them, our nation would not exist.
Today, let us remember those that fell on Lexington green and defended the bridge at Concord, and those who fell in the fields and homes that lined the road between. Their blood consecrated the birth of a new nation that began in spirit on that day. Let us remember those who died at Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Yellow Bayou fighting for the conviction that this union is too precious to shatter.
Let us remember those who died in countless fields across Flanders and France fighting the war to end all wars, but didn't.
Let us remember those that died at Pearl Harbor, Omaha Beach, and Wake Island to defend our shores. Let us remember those who did not survive the Bataan Death March, and those who did not emerge alive from the prison camps at Shanghai and Hokkaido.
Let us remember those who died in, and the many that never returned from, countless jungle battles. Let us remember those who ran up the stairs, when others ran down. Let us remember those dead, and dying, in a thousand sweltering, dusty desert skirmishes today.
We may debate and decry a war, we may condemn the act of war itself, but we should always remember and honor the warriors willing to lay down their lives for our own. Theirs is the consummate act of love. Our duty to them is to remember and make a country worthy of their sacrifice.