We shall not sleep
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.
We beseech thee also so to rule the hearts of those who bear the authority of government in this and every land, that they may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world. *
The article below was sent to me by my friend and fellow Navy veteran Paul Herbert. Simply copy and paste, I have not verified, but trust the information, which is circulating on the internet, is correct. The Wall is to me not only a crushing symbol of my Navy life and years, but of my very being as an American, and is the most emotionally overwhelming place I have ever stood. Or wept.
In the prayer above, my inserted emphasis on "wise decisions and right actions" -- whether spoken in congregation or written -- is correctly understood as my view, not politically but as a human being and citizen, that governments', especially our government's, decisions and actions are generally light years from wise and right. This almost invariably so with respect to policies and actions that directly affect the lives of human beings foreign and domestic. Nevertheless, I am not cynical, and still and above all, I am not bitter. Angry, perhaps very angry. As we celebrate -- no -- honor Memorial Day, very, very angry and ineffably sad. But never bitter. And ever, forever and always American, heart, mind and soul. In ways, even above the Cross.
by Washington himself.
We shall not sleep ---
TW Commander, U. S. Navy (Ret)
USS TRIPOLI (LPH-10) 1969-1971
* BCP 329, Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church and the World
"In Flanders Fields" by Lt Col John McCrae, MD, 1915
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.
We beseech thee also so to rule the hearts of those who bear the authority of government in this and every land, that they may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world. *
In the prayer above, my inserted emphasis on "wise decisions and right actions" -- whether spoken in congregation or written -- is correctly understood as my view, not politically but as a human being and citizen, that governments', especially our government's, decisions and actions are generally light years from wise and right. This almost invariably so with respect to policies and actions that directly affect the lives of human beings foreign and domestic. Nevertheless, I am not cynical, and still and above all, I am not bitter. Angry, perhaps very angry. As we celebrate -- no -- honor Memorial Day, very, very angry and ineffably sad. But never bitter. And ever, forever and always American, heart, mind and soul. In ways, even above the Cross.
The Wall ...
A little history most people will never know.
Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.
The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.
There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
8,283 were just 19 years old.
The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam..
1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day inVietnam ..
31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.
54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School inPhiladelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.
8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
A little history most people will never know.
Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.
The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.
There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
8,283 were just 19 years old.
The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam..
1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day inVietnam ..
31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.
54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School inPhiladelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.
8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginianson the Wall.
The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in theApache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, thenine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a
The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in theApache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, thenine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a
group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only three returned home.
The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.
For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, and shipmates.
The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.
For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, and shipmates.
Nearly forty years ago we were driven out of Vietnam in shame and disgrace, and there was a feeling throughout America that we had learned a terrible lesson and would never again let such a thing happen to our country, nor ever again be drawn into such a quagmire. But it is wrenchingly clear with Afghanistan and especially Iraq that we have learned nothing. Like a child who cannot learn not to touch fire or stick his finger in an electrical outlet, we have learned nothing at all. Nothing whatsoever. Worse, worst, we have broken faith with those who died and are dying and will die today, this morning, this afternoon, and tomorrow. The Iraq War is a monument to monumental government evil, and Afghanistan may surpass. At least united Vietnam is at peace and somewhat open.
The Wall stands as an enduring monument, not only to the lives of tens of thousands of honored dead for whom our hearts will forever grieve, but as a reminder of government fallibility, evil and pride, of sacrificed young American lives, and of untold generations of American children and grandchildren who will never be born.
The Wall stands as an enduring monument, not only to the lives of tens of thousands of honored dead for whom our hearts will forever grieve, but as a reminder of government fallibility, evil and pride, of sacrificed young American lives, and of untold generations of American children and grandchildren who will never be born.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row ...
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep ...
watched over night and day If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep ...
We have our own field
by Washington himself.
We shall not sleep ---
TW Commander, U. S. Navy (Ret)
USS TRIPOLI (LPH-10) 1969-1971
* BCP 329, Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church and the World
"In Flanders Fields" by Lt Col John McCrae, MD, 1915