Page 105 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2022 - Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS

presided over the funeral service and placed a "In Flanders Fields" first appeared anonymously
wooden cross on Alexis’ grave amidst a field of in the British publication, Punch, on December 8,
poppies. On May 3, 1915, the day after Alexis died, 1915, but in the index to that year, McCrae was
John McCrae penned “In Flanders Fields.” named as the author (misspelt as McCree). It was
also extensively printed in the United States, whose
In Flanders Fields government was contemplating joining the war,
alongside a 'reply' by poet R. W. Lillard, ("...Fear
In Flanders fields the poppies blow not that you have died for naught, / The torch ye
Between the crosses, row on row, threw to us we caught...").

That mark our place; and in the sky Historian Paul Fussell stated, "In Flanders Fields"
was the most popular poem of its era. The legacy
The larks, still bravely singing, fly of this famous war poem lives on through war
memorials, museums and statues in Belgium and
Scarce heard amid the guns below. Canada. There are publications of the poem in
various languages around the world, as well as
We are the Dead. Short days ago musical compositions arranged by John Jacobson &
Roger Emerson, John Philip Sousa, Bradley Nelson,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, and many more.
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
According to the Canadian War Museum, “The
In Flanders fields. blood-red poppy had long been associated with the
fighting armies of Europe, and the flowers often overgrew
Take up our quarrel with the foe: the mass graves left by battles. During the First World
War, enormous artillery bombardments completely
To you from failing hands we throw disrupted the landscape, infusing the chalk soils with
lime. The poppies thrived in the environment, their
The torch; be yours to hold it high. colours standing out against the blasted terrain.”
If ye break faith with us who die Today, poppies are worn on Remembrance Day

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as on
Veteran’s Day in the United States, to honor all
In Flanders fields. veterans who serve their countries.

The war poem takes us to Flanders fields in 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20121007202546/http://www.
Belgium, where we can visualize fields of poppies veterans.gc.ca/eng/history/firstwar/mccrae/flanders
growing amongst the bodies of dead soldiers whose
graves are marked with crosses. 2. McCrae, John (December 8, 1915). "In Flanders Fields". Punch,
or the London Charivari. London: Punch Office. Retrieved May 3,
We are shown the simplicity and beauty of birds 2021.
singing and flying in the sky, in stark comparison
with the ravages of war battles taking place on the 3. Punch : Lemon, Mark, 1809-1870, ed : Free Download,
ground below. Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The point of view is then “spoken” by soldiers who 4. "Index". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Punch Office.
died in battle. These dead soldiers are lamenting December 29, 1915. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
how, at one moment in time, they were full of life 5. Flanders Field and Reply to Flanders Field (nbc-links.com)
and had hope for the future with their loved ones,
but then were killed in battle, with their hopes 6. Fussell, Paul (2009) [1975], The Great War and Modern
being dashed forever. Memory (Illustrated Edition), New York: Stirling Publishing,
ISBN 978-0-19-513331-8
The dead soldiers have “passed the torch” to their
brothers in arms. They implore those who are still 7. www.warmuseum.ca
alive to continue fighting so their ultimate sacrifice
would not have been in vain, and they can rest in
peace.

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