In Flanders Fields

[Abbynormal]

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.

1915 by Lt. Col. John McCrae MD
Royal Canadian Expedition Forces

 

[bigwheelzip]

Two years ago, a team of ceramic artists in Britain hand made unique poppies representing every commonwealth soldier who perished in WWI.
These 888,246 ceramic poppies were temporarily displayed at the Tower of London as an art installation called "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red". The cascade down the wall is called "Weeping Window".
It was a powerful reminder of war's human cost.

 

[pawngal]

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.

1915 by Lt. Col. John McCrae MD
Royal Canadian Expedition Forces

One of my all time favorite pieces of poetry. May we never forget those who fought battles before our time.

 

[Rustyt1953]

As a schoolboy in England I was made to memorize this.

I have never forgotten it.

 

[LVSteve]

I still think of 11 November as Poppy Day from my youth in the UK.

Unlike Rusty, I was never required to memorize the poem, probably an indicator of my fractured education as we moved a lot.

 

[pawngal]

As a schoolboy in England I was made to memorize this.

I have never forgotten it.

I must have memorized it here in the USA too. Can still quote most of it.

I remember making posters for "Buddy Poppy Day" and selling the poppies as a Girl Scout. Would that be PC today?

I seem to see the Veterans Auxillary groups doing it now days.

 

[ldausmc1369]

I still have a poppy given to me on Armistice Day by a WWI vet, my grandfather, who was a combat engineer and was "gassed". He was crippled for life but drew a very small pension and worked for a wealthy businessman who gave him a house and a custodial job to maintain his dignity and paid him much more than the job required to support his family Semper Fi, Granpop!

 

[31FordA]

My great uncle was in the Army in France in the Great War. He was gassed (mustard) but survived. Many of my grandparents friends were also WWI vets, from the American, British, and also German armies. Grandpop's one friend had a large red keystone, the "bloody bucket" emblem of the 28th Infantry Division, on the front of his garage. He was immensely proud to have served in the 28th. I can still hear my Grandpop singing some of the songs from WWI. It's hard to believe all those guys are gone now.

During WWI my Grandpop helped build the Eddystone arsenal, and the Hog Island shipyard. He, and my other grandfather, also worked at the Eddystone arsenal, which turned out all sorts of weapons, most famously the 1917 rifle. The 1917 was the type of rifle my great uncle carried in France. I think about all of them whenever I shoot my 1917 Eddystone.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

My grandfather was there also wounded by mustard gas. He never spoke about it, but he had helmets. a bugle and personal belongings of many friends that he left over there. This was all in a special place in the attic, that he visited periodically. I only found out what out that it was his private shrine to his friends after he died. He never said a word about France, combat or Paris. He only said near his death that the German's Paris gun was a bigger deal than in the history books. Sorry, Photobucket is not allowing me to orient the picture at this time.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Houston Rick, hope you don't mind, I just straightened him up a bit.

 

[Cyrano]

In the 1980s, I visited Britain. In the British Library I saw, in addition to two of the four existing copies of the Magna Carta, the original of this poem, written on blue notebook paper. It had the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

 

[Alk8944]

One of the most moving poems ever written. The only difference is the first line actually ends "where poppies grow", not blow. It flows better, makes more sense! This is the way I learned it and cannot understand how every print copy has changed it to blow. Here is a link to the original hand written copy of the poem, you will see the word is definitely grow.

In Flanders Fields - Wikipedia

Give it a bit to open the photo of the actual document, it takes several seconds. I thought too that you might enjoy seeing the original manuscript.

 

[robvious]

my grandfather was attached to a sanitation train in the Ardennes region at the end of WWI... that was the frontline MASH unit of the period... the final battle was a waste of humanity... the peace accord had been signed but generals wanted to prove whatever and get rid of mortar shells up until the last minute... 11/11 11:00... unfortunately the men in no mans land did not get the cease fire notice the artillery men did... and had to continue fighting for their lives... my grandfather had to drag the wounded and dead after it finally stopped... all those wounded or killed for nothing... after the war my grandfather never drove again and never explained why... probably too many memories from an ambulance... the WWI museum in Kansas City is worth a visit... amazing place to help the generations understand what the past was like...

 

[tekarra]

The poem was required memorization for most school children in Canada. At 11:00 on Remembrance Day I go to a quiet place and after two minutes silence, recite the poem.

Following is another poem written by another Canadian.


Flanders Now

We have kept the faith, ye Flanders dead,
Sleep well beneath those poppies red.
The torch your dying hands did throw,
We held it high before the foe,
And answered bitter blow for blow.
In Flanders Fields.

And where your heroes' blood was spilled,
And silent grown.
There is no moaning of the slain,
There is no cry of tortured pain,
And blood will never flow again
In Flanders Fields.

Forever holy in our sight
Shall be those crosses clean and white,
That guard your sleep.
Rest you in peace, the task is done,
The fight you left us we have won.
And "Peace on Earth" has just begun
In Flanders Fields.

Edna Jaques

 

[erics]

My dad was a bomber pilot in the second war and as a kid we would attend memorial services each year. Later dad worked for veterans affairs dept of the federal government so he knew many of our local vets. Always a large function at the legion branch with homemade meals by the ladies auxiliary. I was too young to appreciate the fellowship of this group. My maternal grandfather joined the army for WW1. He was 15 years of age at the time. They made him a stretcher bearer. A great uncle also served in WW1 as a sniper. He was trapped in no mans land in a shell crater for almost a week.
I also had to memorize the poem and now I help my grandchildren learn it.

 

[Onomea]

.... the first line actually ends "where poppies grow", not blow. It flows better, makes more sense! This is the way I learned it and cannot understand how every print copy has changed it to blow.....

That's really interesting. Note that even at author Mccrae's gravesite, it is incorrectly inscribed in bronze.. The handwritten manuscript definitely says "grow," though.

 

[shouldazagged]

my grandfather was attached to a sanitation train in the Ardennes region at the end of WWI... that was the frontline MASH unit of the period... the final battle was a waste of humanity... the peace accord had been signed but generals wanted to prove whatever and get rid of mortar shells up until the last minute... 11/11 11:00... unfortunately the men in no mans land did not get the cease fire notice the artillery men did... and had to continue fighting for their lives... my grandfather had to drag the wounded and dead after it finally stopped... all those wounded or killed for nothing... after the war my grandfather never drove again and never explained why... probably too many memories from an ambulance... the WWI museum in Kansas City is worth a visit... amazing place to help the generations understand what the past was like...

A few years ago there was a one-hour TV show narrated by Michael Palin, whose uncle or great-uncle was one of the last killed on 11/11/18, about the pointless, absurd and sometimes criminal waste of young men's lives as the final minute approached. It was well worth watching, and Palin's narration was excellent.

I'm glad someone else recalls calling it Armistice Day.

 

[mstem]

A few years ago there was a one-hour TV show narrated by Michael Palin, whose uncle or great-uncle was one of the last killed on 11/11/18, about the pointless, absurd and sometimes criminal waste of young men's lives as the final minute approached. It was well worth watching, and Palin's narration was excellent.

I'm glad someone else recalls calling it Armistice Day.

My grand dad who was born in 1901 called it Armistice Day his whole life.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

A few years ago there was a one-hour TV show narrated by Michael Palin, whose uncle or great-uncle was one of the last killed on 11/11/18, about the pointless, absurd and sometimes criminal waste of young men's lives as the final minute approached. It was well worth watching, and Palin's narration was excellent.

I'm glad someone else recalls calling it Armistice Day.

Certain allied officers wanted to get in the history books, or be able to brag at the social club, as having liberated towns near the front, if it occurred to them that this fleeting honor was purchased with lives of husbands, fathers and sons, it apparently did not matter.

 

[V1 Rotate]

On the first day of the Somme offensive, the British Empire incurred 57,000 casualties. FIFTY-SEVEN THOUSAND. Of those, 20,000 were killed in action. It is said that 10,000 men died before breakfast. There is nothing further I can say that does not sound like a trivial cliché. Bill S