Memorial Day: To Remember...and Take Action
- marthaengber
- May 26
- 2 min read
I learned something new about Memorial Day, a federal holiday to honor fallen US Armed Forces personnel, on the US Veterans Affairs website:
“Originally called Decoration Day, it was formalized by a ‘Memorial Day Order’ issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan in 1868. The modern proclamation calls on Americans ‘to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.’”
And I would add, “and take action toward that end.”
The photo is from the WW I Museum in Kansas City, MO. The red dots are red poppies as referenced in the poem In Flanders Field by Lt. Col John McCrae, a Canadian poet, author and physician.
I posted the poem a few years ago, but here it is again:
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.
___
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SCATTERED LIGHT, a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT (Nov. 2025)
THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel, in paperback and audiobook
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers
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