Thank You

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the cross, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly
Scare hear 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, 1872-1918

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied.

Here is a map of where Flanders is...

Flanders (and Belgium as a whole) saw some of the greatest loss of life on the Western Front of the First World War, in particular from the three battles of Ypres. Due to the hundreds of thousands of casualties at Ypres, the poppies that sprang up from the battlefield afterwards, later immortalized in the Canadian poem "In Flanders Fields", written by John McCrae, have become a symbol for lives lost in war.

Today is Veterans Day. I'm pretty sure that you know a veteran, are related to a veteran, or maybe you are a veteran. Say Thank You to that person. They have given up themselves for the betterment of our country. Have you do done that?


Ask them to tell you about their experiences. One of my favorite memories is of my Grandpa, telling us a story of how his company was on the Moselle River, and he almost was shot, but he could remember the names of those men that were there with him, and he told us the greatest story...he drew pictures and diagrams of the river, and the bridges, and the stone walls that they were hiding behind. I sit in awe when I think of all he has been through. Absolute awe.


Now, get up and go Thank a Veteran. Give them a hug, shake their hand and tell them Thank You.