[FBD]

'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.

---

-The most asked question is: Why poppies?

"Wild poppies flower when other plants in their direct neighborhood are dead. Their seeds can lie on the ground for years and years, but only when there are no more competing flowers or shrubs in the vicinity (for instance when someone firmly roots up the ground), these seeds will sprout.

There was enough rooted up soil on the battlefield of the Western Front; in fact the whole front consisted of churned up soil. So in May 1915, when McCrae wrote his poem, around him bloodred poppies blossomed like no one had ever seen before.


But in this poem the poppy plays one more role. The poppy is known as a symbol of sleep. The last line We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields might point to this fact. Some kinds of poppies can be used to derive opium from, from which morphine can be made. Morphine is one of the strongest painkillers and was often used to put a wounded soldier to sleep. Sometimes medical doctors used it in a higher dose to put the incurable wounded out of their misery."-

- Rob Ruggenberg

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the great poems and Thanks to those who sacrificed so that we are here for this Memorial Day.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks. G'mornin' ! :^D

[FBD]

"PLEASE REMEMBER ME"

Remember me, America, for I was once your son,

I fought and died at Valley Forge with General Washington;

I was there at Gettysburg on that tragic, tragic day.

When brother fought against brother - the blue against the grey.

I rode with Teddy Roosevelt on the charge up San Juan Hill.

Some came back to fight again - but I just lie there still.

I went to France with A.E.F. to bring the peace to you;

I was twenty-one and full of fun - I never saw twenty-two.

I am still here at Pearl Harbor since that December seventh day of infamy.

Lying silently with my shipmates on the U.S.S. Arizona at the bottom of the sea.

D-Day June 6th 1944, we hit the beaches of Normandy

And we fought uphill every inch of the way.

We routed the Germans and hurled them back,

But what a terrible price we had to pay.

I served on an U.S. submarine, the bravest of the brave,

Until a German depth charge gave us a watery grave.

I bombed the Ploesti oil fields; they blew with one big roar,

But in the attack we were hit with flack - I ll never bomb anymore.

In Korea I heard the C.O. shout We ll make it - I am sure we will.

I lost my life to try and take a spot called Pork Chop Hill.

Vietnam! Vietnam! When will we ever learn?

I am one of sixty thousand that never will return.

I left my town, my wife, my kids, my home, so cozy and warm;

I was killed in a scud attack in a war called Desert Storm!

And so in my eternity my thoughts are all for thee,

I ll never forget my America....
I pray she remembers me.

-John Dirusso
World War II U.S. Air Force - Combat Veteran