During the 17 continuous days of the second Battle of Ypres in May 1915, Lt. Col. John McCrae, a military surgeon, sat on the back of an ambulance in Ypres, Flanders, where his Canadian Army’s First Division suffered 1,000 killed and 4,975 wounded, and penned a poem that resonates to this day with military veterans.
Every year in Veterans of Foreign War halls around the country, it is read with reverence on Veterans Day in memory of those veterans, living and dead, who have shed their blood on the fields of Europe, North Africa, Korea and Vietnam, in the sands of the Middle East in Kuwait, Iraq and the mountains and valleys of Afghanistan.
This memorial to the honor and gallantry of all who have stood and fallen in defense of our country, and the values for which it stands, whether on land, sea or in the air, deserves a reading by all of our citizens on this Veterans Day.
In Flanders Fields
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.
As we all celebrate this Veterans Day, honor those who have served and those who serve today and take a moment to reflect on the meaning of their sacrifices.
If you choose to fly our nation’s colors this day, they should fly at half staff until noon, when they should rise proudly to the peak of the flagstaff.
