Happy Memorial Day —
This is an old post from 5 years ago. I thought in honor of those who gave their all I would re-post. I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable day with family and friends.
Today we are celebrating Memorial Day. When I was a kid, Memorial Day was always the 30th of May. It was called Decoration Day. It was made a national holiday in 1971, at that time it was moved to the last Monday in May.
Memorial Day is the day we remember what it means to be a hero. A day to remember the heroes who gave their all for their buddy next to them and for our freedom. These are the real heroes. It is also a day we can thank those who did not get recognized with the honor they deserved when they returned from the war.
The church I grew up in still calls it Decoration Day. It is a big event. Everyone takes a dish and lunch is served. Family and friends that live out of town come for the celebration. It is a good time to catch up with family and old friends who live out of town that you do not get to visit often. I have a friend from childhood that has come from Oregon this year for the event as he was in the war. A far ride for an oldster, Oregon to North Carolina.
I remember the little paper poppies sold by the veterans from the local American Legion to raise money for the needs of the disabled veterans. Poppies became the symbol of the American Legion. The other day when I was shopping there were two old veterans sitting outside the entrance of the store taking donations. If you made a donation, they gave you one of the little paper poppies. Sure brought back memories of childhood and Decoration Day.
Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote a poem called “In Flander’s Field”. 1915 He had walked in a field of poppies where crosses were laid out to mark the graves of the fallen. You can see at the end of this blog post. There was also another poem written by Moina Michael as a tribute to Lt. Col. John McCrae’s “In Flander’s Field”. It too is at the end of this post.
Flanders Field, Belgium John McCrae, 1872-1918 One of the most famous World War I poems was written in 1915 by Canadian John McCrae. He was inspired to write his poem on May 3rd, 1915, after performing the burial service of Alexis Helmer, a friend and fellow soldier who died in the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium the day before. At the time, he had noted how quickly the poppies grew around the graves of those who had died. Sitting in the back of an ambulance, he composed the poem, then crumpled the paper and threw it away. Another soldier retrieved the poem and convinced McCrae to submit it for publication. McCrae worked on the poem for months before submitting it to The Spectator in London. Although they rejected it, the poem was sent to Punch where it was published on December 8th, 1915. “In Flanders Field” became the most popular poem of its era. It was republished throughout the world and became synonymous with the sacrifice of soldiers in World War I. Real poppies became a symbol for honoring soldiers of World War I are worn to this day on Remembrance Day. Click the link below the picture and it will take you to the website this information is from.
In Flander’s Field
By Lt. Col. 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
Lt. Col. John McCrae died of pneumonia in 1918 and is buried in Wimereux, France
We Shall Keep the Faith”
By Moina Michael
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders field
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that you wrought
In Flanders field
