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.

In Flanders Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 3 May 1915

Today is Veterans Day in the United States. It is Remembrance Day in Canada; Canadians treat the day with great solemnity. They traditionally recite this poem from memory at the 11th hour and 11th minute, in honor of those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. I admire their civilian sense of duty to pay great honor and respect to their veterans on this day.

We often forget that in the great conflicts of the last century, Americans and Canadians fought side-by-side, striving for the same goal with a shared vision of freedom and peace. I am uniquely honored to have family members serving active duty on both sides of our friendly border.

So here's to both American and Canadian servicemen and women. Thank you who give and have given sacrificially for the cause of freedom.