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

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium by Lt. Col. John McCrae

The ghosts come back a little, today.  I realized while at the local Memorial Day ceremony just how long the list has gotten.  Men I knew well, men I only knew in passing before they were gone.  Men who died in combat.  Men who died in training.  Men who took their own lives.

Not a lot to say about it, today.

Fair winds and following seas.  We have the watch.

Memorial Day
Tagged on:         

Peter Nealen

Peter Nealen is a former Reconnaissance Marine and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006, and again in 2007, with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Recon Bn. After two years of schools and workups, including Scout/Sniper Basic and Team Leader's Courses, he deployed to Afghanistan with 4th Platoon, Force Reconnaissance Company, I MEF. Since he got out, he's been writing, authoring many articles and 24 books, mostly Action/Adventure and Military Thrillers, with some excursions into Paranormal Fantasy and Science Fiction.

One thought on “Memorial Day

  • June 2, 2019 at 5:49 pm
    Permalink

    Just finished buying and reading the novella about the canyon! Great read! Why isn’t you Jed Horn series shown on this page? Excellently written and many of the questions that test our Faith are faced and thoughtfully answered.

    How about including some Protestant witch hunters that sing hymns instead of saying Litanies? I can almost heat Jed say, “Well, they don’t sound pretty, but what they lack in harmony, they make up for in faith.”

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *