This is a repost of something I wrote a couple of years ago. It still seems fitting. In addition to today being Veterans' Day here in the U.S., I do believe that it's Remembrance Day' in Canada.
___________
In Flanders Field
John McCrae, May 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 the quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high.
If you break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
_________
Today, November 11... is Veterans Day... I remember my Mom and Dad referring to it as Armistice Day, the day that the end of World War I was recognized world-wide...
"Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice..."
Over time, Veterans Day was altered to honor veterans from all wars... I remember when I was a boy, Dad took me to Illinois to visit the family homestead... and later to the Brown Family Cemetery... one of the headstones he took me to belonged to a young man by the name of 'Leland Brown'... on his headstone is inscribed...
"One of Pershing's 100 Heros..."
My Dad told me that during the course of World War I that Leland had pulled off something similar to Alvin York's accomplishments...
Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944
A late brother-in-law was an 18 year old the day he landed on Omaha Beach in France... to begin the last thrust of the war that was designed to push the Germans out of France... back into Germany... and end the war.
Before his stint in World War II was over, he would be wounded in France, and again in Belgium at the Battle of the Bulge... He was a kid... What were you doing when you were 18???
There is footage of the landing in Normandy that always haunts me... there are three soldiers running onto the beach... and one falls motionless... I keep waiting, hoping to see him stir... move... do something to indicate that maybe he tripped... or was just wounded... Of course, he doesn't. Over 2,500 young men died on the beaches that morning.
Of course, the war that haunts me and my generation is the Vietnam War... I am still appalled at how the troops returning from Vietnam were treated by America... Not only were the young men and women targets in Southeast Asia, but also back in the states... I still remember some of the looks I got when I traveled in my Air Force dress blues...
I am disturbed to hear news that Arlington Cemetery... where many of America's military dead heroes are buried... has dishonored so many by burying many of the soldiers in the wrong graves... or disposing of their ashes in very disrespectful ways.
These people deserve our respect and our attention... Giving them the medical care, rehabilitation, and final respects are the least we can do...
I was disturbed to hear news on the television this morning about the number of "unattended" funerals for deceased veterans... where no one shows up for the service...
We are the great nation that we are because we have had 235-plus years of people willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our Country... for our Freedoms...
Honor our military members...
We owe them...
~shoes~
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