Rotary's Power for World Peace

In Flanders Fields

By Lieut. Col. John McCrae

Written during the second battle of Ypres, April 15, 1915. The author, whose home was in Montreal, Canada, "He died of pneumonia and meningitis in Wimereux, France on January 28th, 1918, probably from a combination of overwork, depression and the effects of the cold, damp elements on his asthma. Being gassed several times in 1915 didn't do him any good either..." Susan Raby-Dunne 29 April 2007

"memorial brooch" from Ypres (Flanders), a very rare collectors item

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 amidst 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 falling 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. 

 

America’s Answer

(Written after the death of Lieut. Col. McCrae and printed in the New York Evening Post.)

Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead,

The fight that ye so bravely led

We’ve taken up. And we will keep

True faith with you who lie asleep

With each a cross to mark his bed,

And poppies blowing over head,

Where once his own life blood ran red.

So let your rest be sweet and deep

In Flanders fields.

 

Fear not that ye have died for naught.

The torch ye threw to us we caught.

Ten million hands will hold it high,

 And Freedom’s light shall never die!

 We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught

 In Flanders fields.