Flashback Friday: Veteran's Day Edition

When I was a senior in high school, I went to Washington D.C. for a week with a group from my school. We happened to be there during the week of elections and Veteran's Day - a pretty good time to be in D.C. Aside from freezing the entire week, I had a really great time. We went to a play at Ford's Theater. We toured the Capitol. We visited Williamsburg. We hung out at the Smithsonian. We became pros at public transportation. We drove past the D.C. temple all it up. We visited monuments and memorials aplenty.

Not really great pictures, but I like them because this is my favorite memorial and the picture below gives you an idea of how massive it is.

My favorite place was probably Arlington Cemetery. I'm a bit weird, but in general I really like cemeteries. I think they are really peaceful and sacred. Arlington is no different, but it has an extra power. I'm not sure I've ever been somewhere that felt so reverent.

I took a couple of pictures during the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After I snapped one, I reached the end of the roll and my camera rewound. It was so embarrassingly loud amid the silence of that ceremony. I still look back at that moment with complete chagrin - and with a wish that digital cameras would have been around back then.
A few weeks ago, I checked out a collection of poems at the library. I liked it so much that I bought myself a copy. One of the poems in the collection is In Flanders Fields, a poem President Monson often recites and which I love. One night as I was reading it, I noticed that the collection also includes three replies to this poem. I might have cried a bit while I read them and forced Floyd to listen while I recited them to him. In honor of Veteran's Day, here are all four of the poems:

In Flanders Fields

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 McRae


Reply to In Flanders Fields

Oh! Sleep in peace where poppies grow;
The torch your falling hands let go
Was caught by us, again held high,
A beacon light in Flanders sky
That dims the stars to those below.
You are the dead, you held the foe,
And ere the poppies cease to blow,
We'll prove our faith in you who lie
In Flanders Fields.

Oh! Rest in peace, we quickly go
To you who bravely died, and know
In other fields was heard the cry,
For freedom's cause, of you who lie,
So still asleep where poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.

As in rumbling sound, to and fro,
The lightning flashes, sky aglow,
The mighty hosts appear, and high
Above the din of battle cry,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below,
Are fearless hearts who fight the foe,
And guard the place where poppies grow.
Oh! Sleep in peace, all you who lie
In Flanders Fields.

And still the poppies gently blow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
The larks, still bravely soaring high,
Are singing now their lullaby
To you who sleep where poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

-John Mitchell


Another Reply to In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the cannons boom,
And fitful flashes light the gloom;
While up above, like eagles, fly
The fierce destroyers of the sky;
With stains the earth wherein you lie
Is redder than the poppy bloom,
In Flanders Fields
Sleep on, ye brave! The shrieking shell,
The quaking trench, the startling yell,
The fury of the battle hell
Shall wake you not, for all is well;
Sleep peacefully, for all is well.
Your flaming torch aloft we bear,
With burning heart and oath we swear
To keep the faith, to fight it through,
To crush the foe, or sleep with you,
In Flanders Fields.

-J.A. Armstrong

America's Answer

Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead.
The fight that ye so bravely led
We've taken up. And we will keep
True faith with you who lie asleep
With each a cross to mark his bed,
In Flanders fields.

Fear not that ye have died for naught.
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom's light shall never die!
We've learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders fields.

-R.W. Lilliard

When I think of war, I think of my grandpa who left a young wife and four small children when called to service during World War II. I absolutely cannot fathom sending my husband off to war while I stayed home with our young children. Thankfully, he never was sent to combat and came home safely. The faith and courage of service men and women is amazing and today, I just want to say thanks.