Remembering the Fallen

The BBC has this article today about the discovery of a well preserved body found at Passchendaele, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the war. I am sure they will identify the body with the modern forensic techniques available. Despite the inhumanity of all war there is this one custom to note, the intense desire of many nations to not only remember the sacrifice of the fallen, but to account for each person who paid the ultimate price in battle.

Memorial Day is observed here in the spring, a time of hope and renewal of life. I offer this piece I wrote two years ago with my reflections on the meaning of this day and what we should learn from the wars of history.

I have a ritual every year on Memorial Day. I pop into my VCR an animated Peanuts special entitled, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? It's a program that takes the beloved Peanuts characters on a tour of famous European battlegrounds. Their tour includes a visit to Flanders fields from World War I where, according to the poem, "The poppies grow, between the crosses row on row." The words of this haunting poem continue, "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." Read the entire piece here.