Commander's Corner
I was honored to attend a local elementary school Veterans Day program. The program involves all of the classes in the school and has been organized for over 15 years by teacher, Ms. Malpica. From start to finish of the program, it was very obvious how proud each and every student was honoring veterans from families and the community in attendance. Each grade had a section of the program, all had memorized their speaking parts or songs. One of the projects was to read the Flanders Field poem and then write a follow up poem with the student’s interpretation of the meaning of the poem. I have broken down the original poem in black, and the student’s interpretation in red. It is amazing how the students recovered the meaning of the original version of the poem. This was one of my highlights of the many events over the Veterans Days week.
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.
In the graveyard, the red flowers blow
Next to and between the rows of graves;
And in the sky the birds are still singing and flying,
But it’s hard to hear them because of the noises of war
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.
The soldiers are dead.
Only a few days ago, they were alive and watching the sunrise and sunset:
They loved people and people loved them,
But now they sleep in the graveyard.
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.
Pick up fighting for them against the bad guys;
Be proud to fight for victory.
If you give up and break their trust,
They will not rest in peace
Even though the red flowers will grow in the graveyard.
Americanism is alive and well in this elementary school. For everyone who participated in events around the state, thank you for representing the American Legion and honoring all veterans.
Al Jensen, Commander
Phone: 360-739-1269
Email: asjen@comcast.net
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