Memorial Day. We know this is a day we like to spend outside, enjoying the weather, having picnics and loving on our families. We also know today is a difficult one for some of us who have lost loved ones. We are thankful for those who have sacrificed so much so that we can have our family day. We take this time to remember those brave men and women who have fallen in the line of duty and their families who mourn them. We’re reminded of a poem written by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae “In Flanders Field” inspired by one of the most difficult battles during World War I. What was once No Man’s Land full of desolate trenches is now a Poppy field memorial honoring the soldiers who lost their lives during the Second Battle of Ypres.

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.