“Poppies are the emblem of remembrance of the WWI dead.”
Sorry to hijack the thread, but in the spirit of Memorial Day this popped to mind when I ready your post:
In Flanders Fields
BY JOHN MCCRAE
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.
Thank you for posting “In Flanders Fields.”
It is appropriate to remember those who fought for us then and those who are fighting for us now.
Q has admonished us to pray for those who fight for us.
(Found on another thread:)
Veterans Day speech given in 1985 by then-President Ronald Reagan. Much of his speech applies to the Memorial Day, especially this portion, which remains timely today:
“And the living have a responsibility to remember the conditions that led to the wars in which our heroes died. Perhaps we can start by remembering this: that all of those who died for us and our country were, in one way or another, victims of a peace process that failed; victims of a decision to forget certain things; to forget, for instance, that the surest way to keep a peace going is to stay strong. Weakness, after all, is a temptation — it tempts the pugnacious to assert themselves — but strength is a declaration that cannot be misunderstood. Strength is a condition that declares actions have consequences. Strength is a prudent warning to the belligerent that aggression need not go unanswered.
Peace fails when we forget what we stand for. It fails when we forget that our Republic is based on firm principles, principles that have real meaning, that with them, we are the last, best hope of man on Earth; without them, we’re little more than the crust of a continent. Peace also fails when we forget to bring to the bargaining table God’s first intellectual gift to man: common sense. Common sense gives us a realistic knowledge of human beings and how they think, how they live in the world, what motivates them. Common sense tells us that man has magic in him, but also clay. Common sense can tell the difference between right and wrong. Common sense forgives error, but it always recognizes it to be error first.
We endanger the peace and confuse all issues when we obscure the truth; when we refuse to name an act for what it is; when we refuse to see the obvious and seek safety in Almighty. Peace is only maintained and won by those who have clear eyes and brave minds.”
Thank God for POTUS Ronald Reagan.
Thank God for POTUS Donald J Trump.
Thank God for our beloved military and all who loyally serve in harms way on behalf of our Republic.
Very appropriate to post that poem.
Take the horror and outrage we feel as we learn about the long term treason of our leaders and imagine the inexorable fury of those who gave everything for country.
They do not sleep; they wait. Every marker in Arlington cries out to us for justice. We owe them peace. We must not fail them.