A day of rememberance for our fallen brothers and sisters.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

Thank you one and all for your service to our country, past and present.

[hlthe2b]

1. I join you in your thanks to all who served (and those families who sacrificed to make that possible).

But most of all, those we fondly, but sadly, memorialize for the ultimate sacrifice.

[ITAL]

2. Favorite Poem with today in mind

The young dead soldiers do not speak.

Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses:
who has not heard them?

They have a silence that speaks for them at night
and when the clock counts.

They say: We were young. We have died.
Remember us.

They say: We have done what we could
but until it is finished it is not done.

They say: We have given our lives but until it is finished
no one can know what our lives gave.

They say: Our deaths are not ours: they are yours,
they will mean what you make them.

They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for
peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say,
it is you who must say this.

We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.


by Archibald MacLeish


*Not as famous as In Flanders Fields, but I love it.


Have a meaningful Memorial Day everyone. My wife and I will be attending a service later this morning.

[marble falls]

4. Thanks, Ital, made me remember this ...

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.


I am always shocked by the last verse. I wish he had had a different take.


My take:

Do not take quarrel with the foe:
To you through failing hearts we know
Peace be yours to hold so high.
Don't break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep 'til no more poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

[ITAL]

5. The war was still going on in 1915

John McCrae wanted to win. Just because you've seen death, and lost fiends, doesn't automatically make one a pacifist.

[marble falls]

3. Thank you, too, boss! Thankyou and peace to our fallen brothers and sisters, and to those still lost in the battles ...

... at home.

[Deuxcents]

6. For me, this day of remembrance is hard to honor the past without being thankful for our present

Soldiers in arms in the eternal fight for freedom. Our soldiers past, present and future have a calling to serve and we, as a nation, should be more than generous with our thanks and make sure they have what they need. It’s not just a bumper sticker that says some gave their best and some gave their all. I am forever grateful for all those that served..past and present. 🙏

[MarineCombatEngineer]

7. I really, really wish I could Rec. this post, matter of fact, all the posts

more than once.

[marble falls]

8. And the OP, too, that engendered the comments! ...

... does it bug you a little bit when folks say, "Happy Memorial Day"? I twitch as unnoticably as I can when I hear it, because I know it was said with the best of intentions.

Memorial Day sales bug me even more. "Buy some sheets to honor the dead."

[MarineCombatEngineer]

10. Sorry for the late reply, had some pressing matters to take care of.

Yes, it pisses me off when someone says Happy Memorial Day, there's nothing happy about it and those Memorial Day sales pitches are very disrespectful IMO.

[marble falls]

11. Marks us as vets, doesn't it?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

12. Yes it does.

[senseandsensibility]

9. Indeed.

It should be a solemn day with at least some of it devoted to remembering their sacrifice. The times we live in demand that more than ever.