Today is a day we come together in unity, to remember all veterans who so bravely serve the ideals of liberty and freedom. Today is a day all Americans are called to honor and respect the brave men and women of the military, who offer up sacrifice and courage for the good of all.
Liberty is a gift we enjoy as Americans that others paid with their blood and sacrifices. May we never be so content, so comfortable in our peace and prosperity that the blessings of liberty are taken for granted and our duty neglected.
Thank a veteran. Serve a veteran.
It is their service, their sacrifices, their gift of time away from loved ones, that affords us our liberty and the opportunities we now enjoy.
Our duty, our choice is to live a life worthy of the sacrifice our veterans make and Veterans Day remembers.
Our mighty Lord made an eternal, redemptive sacrifice of His life on a cross so we each could choose a life of liberty, free from death and sin. But the gift of liberty comes with a duty to live a life worthy of such a sacrifice.
Do we serve ourselves or do we serve others in their need? Do we serve our own ambitions or do we serve the Lord, who asks that we serve others in love. and with compassion.
God bless our veterans, and God bless the United States of America.
Liberty is a gift we enjoy as Americans that others paid with their blood and sacrifices. May we never be so content, so comfortable in our peace and prosperity that the blessings of liberty are taken for granted and our duty neglected.
Thank a veteran. Serve a veteran.
It is their service, their sacrifices, their gift of time away from loved ones, that affords us our liberty and the opportunities we now enjoy.
Our duty, our choice is to live a life worthy of the sacrifice our veterans make and Veterans Day remembers.
Our mighty Lord made an eternal, redemptive sacrifice of His life on a cross so we each could choose a life of liberty, free from death and sin. But the gift of liberty comes with a duty to live a life worthy of such a sacrifice.
Do we serve ourselves or do we serve others in their need? Do we serve our own ambitions or do we serve the Lord, who asks that we serve others in love. and with compassion.
God bless our veterans, and God bless the United States of America.
A Poem for our Veterans- Let us Remember
Let us remember that day
of shadows and ashen grays,
with its fields stained a deep,
deep crimson.
Since washed away
by rivers of sorrows and pain,
mourned in silence,
with torrents of tears.
Thousands of white crosses
reach up to blue skies,
as if to ask the Creator why,
and we busy ourselves with living.
Yet an eery emptiness remains
for those quietly laid
in fields of red poppies
overflowing.
Let us remember that day
amid the blood dutifully paid
for the peace we will reap
or plunder.
For God’s mighty eyes do rest
on the living and the dead
as He holds each accountable
for their days.
May we reach to the sky
and take hold the torch of light,
calling all into faith and
remembrance.
Our Lord, He did die
so all could arise in new life,
amid fields awash with tears and
red poppies.
Robin Kiley
11.11.17
of shadows and ashen grays,
with its fields stained a deep,
deep crimson.
Since washed away
by rivers of sorrows and pain,
mourned in silence,
with torrents of tears.
Thousands of white crosses
reach up to blue skies,
as if to ask the Creator why,
and we busy ourselves with living.
Yet an eery emptiness remains
for those quietly laid
in fields of red poppies
overflowing.
Let us remember that day
amid the blood dutifully paid
for the peace we will reap
or plunder.
For God’s mighty eyes do rest
on the living and the dead
as He holds each accountable
for their days.
May we reach to the sky
and take hold the torch of light,
calling all into faith and
remembrance.
Our Lord, He did die
so all could arise in new life,
amid fields awash with tears and
red poppies.
Robin Kiley
11.11.17
History of November 11, 1918
Veterans Day is the official US holiday that honors all who serve in the US military. It also coincides with the ending of major hostilities in World War I that occurred on the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918”, when the US, Great Britain, France, Canada, and other allies signed the Armistice with Germany. Many nations celebrate today as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, with the red poppy being a symbol of remembrance and welfare for returning veterans.
World War 1 is often referred to as the “world war to end all wars”, with casualties estimated between 18 to 40 million. This war was marked by a series of bloody conflicts so terrible in their toll on life and in suffering that two remarkable poems were inspired to remember the sacrifices made.
John McCrae began to write his famous poem “In Flanders Fields” on the evening of May 2, 1915 during the bloody fighting of the Second Battle of Ypres. It is said that it was the death of his dear friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, that inspired Major John McCrae, who was second in command of the 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery and the medical doctor, to write his poem. Alexis Helmer was only 22 years old when he was immediately killed by a direct hit of an 8” German artillery shell as he left his dugout on the Sunday morning of May 2, 1915. John McCrae had become good friends with the young and popular Lieutenant Helmer and was grieved by his death. McCrae conducted Helmer’s graveside service when no chaplain was available to speak. It is thought McCrae began his poem “In Flanders Fields” as a remembrance of his dear friend’s brief life and unfortunate death and burial at Essex Farm, where the red poppies grew amongst soldiers’ graves.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 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.
Moina Belle Michael was an American professor and humanitarian who was inspired to write the poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” upon reading John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. She conceived of the Red Poppy as being a symbol worthy of McCrae’s call to remembrance of those lost in World War I and the welfare of war veterans. Ms. Michael, by her own words, said she was so spiritually transfixed by the words of McCrae’s poem that she vowed to “keeping the faith with all whom died”. Ms. Michael’s wrote this poem and continued her pledge to remember those lost in her numerous fundraising efforts for veterans’ organizations and her campaign for the Flanders Fields Memorial Campaign. The red poppy now stands as an international symbol of those who died in Flanders Fields and recognition of war veterans.
We Shall Keep the Faith
by Moina Michael, November 1918
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 Fields.
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 ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
World War 1 is often referred to as the “world war to end all wars”, with casualties estimated between 18 to 40 million. This war was marked by a series of bloody conflicts so terrible in their toll on life and in suffering that two remarkable poems were inspired to remember the sacrifices made.
John McCrae began to write his famous poem “In Flanders Fields” on the evening of May 2, 1915 during the bloody fighting of the Second Battle of Ypres. It is said that it was the death of his dear friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, that inspired Major John McCrae, who was second in command of the 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery and the medical doctor, to write his poem. Alexis Helmer was only 22 years old when he was immediately killed by a direct hit of an 8” German artillery shell as he left his dugout on the Sunday morning of May 2, 1915. John McCrae had become good friends with the young and popular Lieutenant Helmer and was grieved by his death. McCrae conducted Helmer’s graveside service when no chaplain was available to speak. It is thought McCrae began his poem “In Flanders Fields” as a remembrance of his dear friend’s brief life and unfortunate death and burial at Essex Farm, where the red poppies grew amongst soldiers’ graves.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 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.
Moina Belle Michael was an American professor and humanitarian who was inspired to write the poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” upon reading John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. She conceived of the Red Poppy as being a symbol worthy of McCrae’s call to remembrance of those lost in World War I and the welfare of war veterans. Ms. Michael, by her own words, said she was so spiritually transfixed by the words of McCrae’s poem that she vowed to “keeping the faith with all whom died”. Ms. Michael’s wrote this poem and continued her pledge to remember those lost in her numerous fundraising efforts for veterans’ organizations and her campaign for the Flanders Fields Memorial Campaign. The red poppy now stands as an international symbol of those who died in Flanders Fields and recognition of war veterans.
We Shall Keep the Faith
by Moina Michael, November 1918
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 Fields.
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 ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.