Lest we forget....

[James Williams]

Lest we forget why we celebrate Memorial Day. Dr. Jeff Berry sent me this and I thought it appropriate to remind all of us. If any of you get the chance some of the best poetry of the 20th century came from soldiers serving in the First World War.

James

FROM FLANDERS FIELDS TO ROBERTS RIDGE

Michelle Malkin
CREATORS SYNDICATE

-----------------------------------------------------------

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.

ó John McCrae, "In Flanders Fields," 1915.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

ó Moina Michael, "We Shall Keep the Faith," 1918.

The Memorial Day tradition of wearing red poppies to honor
our fallen American veterans was inspired by Moina Michael,
a Georgia teacher who was inspired by John McCrae, a
Canadian military doctor who wrote the famous World War I
poem, "In Flanders Fields." They, in turn, have inspired me
to commemorate a story of war and sacrifice that happened
just two months ago.

The battle was Operation Anaconda in eastern Afghanistan.
The enemy targets: al Qaeda troops and Taliban. In the early
hours of March 4, 2002, the bloodiest date so far in the War
on Terror abroad, U.S. Navy SEAL Neil Roberts joined his
unit aboard a Chinook helicopter. They were assigned to
conduct a clandestine insertion onto a 10,000-foot
mountaintop to establish an overwatch position, protecting
other American forces participating in the attack.

As he prepared to jump from the helicopter ramp to the
landing zone, the 32-year-old Roberts and the rest of the
crew came under fire from a hail of rocket-propelled
grenades. The aircraft lurched. Roberts was thrown from the
helicopter. He fell several feet into al Qaeda-infested
territory on the Kharwar Mountains. According to classified
reports, Roberts survived the fall and valiantly held off
enemy troops for more than half an hour. But when his
machine gun jammed, Petty Officer 1st Class Roberts was
overtaken and killed at close range by three suspected al
Qaeda soldiers.

A six-man commando team set out to rescue Roberts. "We don't
leave Americans behind," explained Brig. Gen. John Rosa,
deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
after the deadly fight. The team was also met by heavy fire,
and Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, 36, was killed at the
scene. During a follow-up gun battle on the mountain that
lasted 12 hours, five other men from a quick-reaction rescue
squad died: Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, 26; Army Pfc.
Matthew A. Commons, 21; Army Sgt. Bradley S. Crose, 27; Army
Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, 31; and Army Spec. Marc A. Anderson,
30.

All of the men received posthumous honors, including the
Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and meritorious service
awards, for their heroism on the frozen peak in eastern
Afghanistan now known as "Roberts Ridge." But for Petty
Officer Roberts, giving his life to his country was its own
reward. In a letter he wrote to his wife before the attack
in case of death, he reflected: "I consider myself blessed
with the best things a man could ever hope for. I loved
being a SEAL. If I died doing something for the teams, then
I died doing what made me happy. Very few people have the
luxury of that."

In a memorial statement, Roberts' family elaborated on what
motivated their cherished son, brother, husband and father:
"He made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that everyone who
calls himself or herself an American truly has all the
privileges of living in the greatest country in the world."
May we never forget what happened:


I don't know if red poppies grow

On Kharwar Mountains high or low,

But on a distant peak there lies

A modern Flanders Field.

One man battled from the ground,

While helicopters gathered 'round,

Whose crewmates' mission was defined:

We don't leave our soldiers behind

On any foreign field.

Bullets flew and seven fell dead.

For all who gave let this be said:

>From Flanders Fields to Roberts Ridge,

By peaks and valleys, beach and bridge,

The blood of heroes has been shed

So we might live our lives instead

And humbly reap the gains

Of freedom's yield.

ó Michelle Malkin, "On Roberts Ridge," 2002.

[James Williams]

Gentlemen,

Here is the complete text of the two poems that are mentioned in the previous post on this thread. John McCrae was a surgeon and wrote the poem on the death of a close friend and fellow officer Lt Alexis Helmer killed at the second battle of Ypres. Moina wrote her poem after reading John McCrae's.

Read and Honor,

James


In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

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.



We Shall Keep the Faith

by Moina Michael, November 1918

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.