“In Flanders fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row by row,
They mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarcely heard amid the guns below…”
So begins the poem by lieutenant-colonel John McCrae in 1915 in WWI.
May 27th is Memorial Day, now always the last Monday in May. We honor our fallen soldiers on this day. It began on May 30, 1868, as Decoration Day. The graves of Union Soldiers were honored with flowers. Many other countries honor their fallen on 11/11 (our Veteran’s Day), also known as Armistice Day. The Poppy flower is promoted on both days.
My Grandma Rena recited “In Flander’s Field” in front of her 3rd grade class. At 95, she asked me if I had the poem. I did, in fact. I found the poem in my ten volume set of “Book of Knowledge” encyclopedia (1945), coincidently that she had given me when I was about ten years old. I copied the poem into larger print as her eyes could not focus on the book.
For about a week, she studied the poem in her room. Then one day before dinner, she asked everyone to come to the table. She sat a little taller, and quietly read “In Flander’s Field” from memory. My grandma was so proud, just like she was back in school some 87 years before. She passed away less than a year later.
I wish to honor my Grandmother this Memorial Day, with the above story of how she honored our fallen soldiers by reciting a little, but important poem, twice.
Thanks for reading.
PS. Just this week, my sister is on a trip to Scotland. Here are a few pictures she sent me from Eilean Donan Castle. It is the MaCrea clan, and you can see them honoring one of their own.
“Sis, you are right. Grandma would have loved to see these pictures. We still have her in our hearts.”
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