Memorial Day 2009

The following poem, by John McCrae, Canadian, 1872 – 1918, inspired the custom of selling artificial poppies to commemorate war dead on Memorial 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.— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

The United States is at war. The newly fallen will join countless others to be honored and remembered this weekend.

At the time of our Revolution, even before we had a constitution and a formal structure as a nation, many died fighting for liberty and patriotism.

May they all rest in peace. – Renata Breisacher Mulry