Though begun as “Armistice Day,” Veterans Day has expanded in the United States as a day for all those brave men and women who fight to keep us free, and is celebrated in many other countries who fought in that horrific war.
One such brave sould was Canadian physician and Lt.-Col. John McCrae. One hundred years ago he wrote the poem “In Flanders Field”:
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.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, let us remember they who risked everything for freedom, including their very lives.
Requiescat in pace.
