Remembering the fallen on the Common

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.

John McCrae, May 1915

(Interesting how in the poem he doesn't ask for peace or to an end to the fighting but instead has the dead insist that the living keep on with the quarrel.)

Love this. It is a beautiful tribute.

There are a group of us who will be removing the flags around dusk if anyone wants to see it. I know it's not very exciting but it's a respectful tribute to the fallen.

In the meantime, I highly encourage everyone to visit in person if you can. The picture is great but seeing it in person is very moving no matter how you feel about our troops, our nation or the state of the world today.

I cannot think of the Americans and Iraqis who died in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" without also thinking that the Iraq War was not the result of an intelligence goof — rather, the Bush white house systematically misled the public about Iraq’s nonexistent WMD program, as well as Saddam Hussein’s link to Al Qaeda.

Just this week CIA Deputy Director and Bush’s intelligence briefer Michael Morell appeared on TV where he, under an amount of good cable news duress, admitted that the administration intentionally misrepresented intelligence.

I had a friend who died in Iraq. Her death is a direct consequence of the Bush white house lying to the American people. She should be at home with her family-- husband and son. Instead, she's buried in Arlington Cemetery..