Blogball Tribute

With Memorial day coming up we sometimes (Including myself) look at this day as just another three day weekend.
I thought this poem was a good reminder of what it’s all about.


In Flanders Fields
John McCrae, 1915.

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.


Here is some information on Flanders Field I found interesting:

Inspiration for the PoemOn 2 May, 1915, in the second week of fighting during the Second Battle of Ypres Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was killed by a German artillery shell. He was a friend of the Canadian military doctor Major John McCrae. It is believed that John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' that evening.

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial lies on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. At this peaceful location rest 368 American military Dead, most of whom gave their lives in liberating Belgium in World War I.