The bravery and sacrifice of the soldier at war is unfathomable. I think especially of those souls who were called up in the days of the draft or who volunteered. What horrors were thrust upon them, and how well they acquitted themselves. I am thankful to those, like my grandfather, who did the heavy lifting so that the rest of us wouldn’t have to.
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” remembered:
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm
Charles Ives’ setting:
Ives’ “Tom Sails Away”
Ives’ “He Is There!”
Germany’s perception of the American soldier in World War I:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/57121/42-quotes-germans-about-american-troops-after-world-war-i