Reflection of the Month - November 2005
In the month of November we take time to remember those who have
fallen in battle for the defense of freedom and our nation. It is
customary to observe a moment of silence on the eleventh hour of the
eleventh day of the eleventh month (November). This is a custom that was
born on November 11, 1918…the day World War I ended. It is called
Armistice Day.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit one of the huge cemeteries in
Europe where fallen Americans lie buried. To walk among the 4400 graves
in that grassy field gave me one of the most moving experiences of my
life. I wrote the following poem to help me capture my feelings. On
November 11 I will be reflecting on those fallen heroes, and the men and
women of our present day who continue to stand in harms way in dangerous
places around our world.
FIELDS OF GREEN AND WHITE
As I gaze on the marble cross
And star of David shining,
Beneath the brilliant Tuscan sky
Where freedom once was dying,
I think about the brave young men
Who with their blood were buying
A chance for peace and liberty
A gift they gave by dying.
Each one of them knew he could lose
His own life in the struggle;
And never see his home again
And not seize life’s potential.
Yet dutifully each marched ahead
Convinced the cause was noble
And lay his life down willingly
On violent fields of battle.
And now these gravesites stir my heart
Insisting that I ponder
The soldiers of our present day
Who face a constant danger;
In lands where brutal hatred rules
And fills men’s souls with rancor,
They often pay the highest price
And give their lives for strangers.
The green and white of this far field
Where heroes now lay buried
Will always be in my mind’s eye
A contrast to the fury.
In brutal battles brave men fight
And lay life down for duty
To safeguard peace and liberty.
Theirs is a noble story!
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