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.
- John McCrae, 1915
Most Americans primarily think of Memorial Day as a work holiday, like Labor Day or New Year's Day. It's a day for family cookouts or getting together with friends, a day to relax. So many have forgotten that Memorial Day is a day in memorial of something. Many towns no longer even hold a local parade, though that tradition seems to have made a comeback in the last few years. Even when they do, the parades rarely end where they used to -- in a cemetery, with speeches by local dignitaries to honor the fallen.
From those who fell in the Revolutionary War to those who have fallen in Iraq, we Americans owe every member of our military, the living as well as the dead, a debt of gratitude we can never repay. We owe the fallen a duty to keep our country safe and free, the ideal for which they gave their lives. We also owe it to them to honor those who have taken up their cause, and fight America's enemies wherever they are found.
They gave their lives so you could live yours. Remember them.
