Posted in General

There is so much history around here to think about on Memorial Day.  We are only a few hours from Normandy, from Flanders Field, from loads of places where Americans gave their lives to protect the freedom of us and others. 

Did you ever wonder why the veterans give out poppies on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day? Throughout history, people have noted that poppies often appear on battlefields and the graves of soldiers.  Poppy seeds lie dormant until the ground goes through a major upheaval, such as it does in battle.  At Flanders Field in Belgium during WWI, poppies bloomed everywhere after the battle and inspired Canadian Major John McCrae to write this poem:

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.

We can never forget that freedom is not free.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Dad!!!