Today in Greensboro we are planting trees in remembrance of our veterans. I was asked to say a few words at a brief ceremony. I am honored to do so. Greensboro does not have a parade for Veterans day and this will be the only observance of an official nature. Yesterday I did help place the flags on the graves of all those veterans having been relieved of their duty. Being a veteran is a lifetime commitment. Their service didn't end with their tour of duty. I believe I can speak for the majority of veterans when I say, I wasn't relieved of my duty when I was discharged or placed on the retired list. That duty remains with us. I stand ready to answer the call should that become a necessity.
In recent years it has come to light the alarming rate of suicide among our veterans. All that can be done is the offering of help and understanding. The reason for such an increase I'll leave to the experts. The important thing to remember here is that Veterans day is to remember all veterans. The duration of service ( a minimum of 90 days is required for you sticklers out there ) is not important. Whether that veteran served on the front line or served in a support position doesn't define the commitment. What we need to remember is that individual basically relinquished their freedom to serve others ! Those others are you and I, the citizens of this great nation. They promised to die in defense of your freedom if that became necessary. There were no limitations set. The sole contractual obligation was to obey the orders of the President of the United Sates and those officers appointed over them !
Originally veterans day was called remembrance day. It is a day to remember all those that have served our nation. The red poppy represents the blood shed in the fight. The symbolism is obvious. But that isn't the whole story. Those same poppies represent new life, new hope for the future. In the poem on Flanders field that is what the author is trying to convey. It was the growth of those poppies that inspired his writing, not the death of soldiers. That is the lesson to teach our children, freedom does come at a price. Some will pay with their lives, some will be wounded in a physical sense, and others suffer from mental anguish. Every veteran paid a price That is what we need to remember ! It isn't so much what was taken, it is what was offered.
This is the last verse of that famous poem, On Flanders Field
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
John McCrae wrote those words on May 3, 1915. The day before he had buried his good friend, Alexis Helmer, killed instantly by a German bomb blast. The only words spoken were what he could recall from the "order of ceremony of the dead " from the Church of England prayer book. There was no chaplain present and the ceremony had to be performed in darkness and secrecy. In the morning, with a gentle breeze blowing across the battlefield, John McCrae contemplated the loss of his friend and all those others lost to the battle. He determined to fight on, to keep faith with those who died. I'm certain he never forgot his friend and wished the same for each and every soldier that ever laced up the boots. We must all " keep the faith " as a solemn obligation, a debt to be satisfied for that is the cost of the freedom we enjoy. Sleep peacefully my brothers and sisters for I will carry that torch until my hands fail me, sleep peacefully knowing the line is unbroken and the Poppies still grow at Flanders Field.
In recent years it has come to light the alarming rate of suicide among our veterans. All that can be done is the offering of help and understanding. The reason for such an increase I'll leave to the experts. The important thing to remember here is that Veterans day is to remember all veterans. The duration of service ( a minimum of 90 days is required for you sticklers out there ) is not important. Whether that veteran served on the front line or served in a support position doesn't define the commitment. What we need to remember is that individual basically relinquished their freedom to serve others ! Those others are you and I, the citizens of this great nation. They promised to die in defense of your freedom if that became necessary. There were no limitations set. The sole contractual obligation was to obey the orders of the President of the United Sates and those officers appointed over them !
Originally veterans day was called remembrance day. It is a day to remember all those that have served our nation. The red poppy represents the blood shed in the fight. The symbolism is obvious. But that isn't the whole story. Those same poppies represent new life, new hope for the future. In the poem on Flanders field that is what the author is trying to convey. It was the growth of those poppies that inspired his writing, not the death of soldiers. That is the lesson to teach our children, freedom does come at a price. Some will pay with their lives, some will be wounded in a physical sense, and others suffer from mental anguish. Every veteran paid a price That is what we need to remember ! It isn't so much what was taken, it is what was offered.
This is the last verse of that famous poem, On Flanders Field
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
John McCrae wrote those words on May 3, 1915. The day before he had buried his good friend, Alexis Helmer, killed instantly by a German bomb blast. The only words spoken were what he could recall from the "order of ceremony of the dead " from the Church of England prayer book. There was no chaplain present and the ceremony had to be performed in darkness and secrecy. In the morning, with a gentle breeze blowing across the battlefield, John McCrae contemplated the loss of his friend and all those others lost to the battle. He determined to fight on, to keep faith with those who died. I'm certain he never forgot his friend and wished the same for each and every soldier that ever laced up the boots. We must all " keep the faith " as a solemn obligation, a debt to be satisfied for that is the cost of the freedom we enjoy. Sleep peacefully my brothers and sisters for I will carry that torch until my hands fail me, sleep peacefully knowing the line is unbroken and the Poppies still grow at Flanders Field.
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