Remember Memorial Day

[Bill Call]

In distant field of sunny France
Where strangers come and go,
Amid the farms of Flanders, where
The fragrant breezes blow,
Our solder-dead in quiet sleep
'Neath crosses row on row.

Here shrapnel shells once shrieked and burst
And took their toll of death;
The very wind, itself a foe,
Bore poison on its breath.

Above their graves the birds now sing
As round that home of yore,
When, carefree boys, they romped and played;
Those childhood days soon o'er,
The boys to brave and strong men grown,
They romped and played no more.

They put aside their childish toys,
A man's work each must do,
And when their country called for them,
To her they answered true.

"We must protect our native land:
She shall not suffer wrong
For she has reared and nurtured us,
We're men and we are strong.
We'll bid good-bye to those we love;
It will not be for long."

With aching hearts and tear-dimmed eyes
We watched them go away.
Some have returned but many sleep
In foreign lands today.

Where English roses bloom and fade,
In France where lilies grow,
Among the fields of Flanders, where
The scarlet poppies blow,
Our soldier-dead are not forgot
Though strangers come and go.



Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
- Mary Frye (1932)

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow;
I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain;
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush;
I am in the graceful rush.

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.

I am the birds that sing
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

[Betsy Voinovich]

Bill,

Thanks. Good to stop and remember. Thinking about my uncle from Lakewood today (the one who went to every School Board meeting) who was in the Battle of the Bulge. Also thinking about all those kids I see at the recruiting center at Rosewood out running every day.

There's a shared Rocky River/Lakewood Memorial Day Parade tomorrow, starting at 10:30 am at Rocky River High School and heading east on Detroit ending at Lakewood Park Cemetery. There will be a ceremony there hosted by the Lakewood and Rocky River joint Veteran's Council.

Betsy Voinovich