Thanking my dear veterans

On this Veterans Day, I want to thank all those who fought and are fighting still, but most especially, my own dear veterans.  My father, Dan, is an Army veteran of World War II and at nearly 92, still very active and fit.  In the photo above, taken during World War II, he is standing with his youngest brother, Bobby, in front of their family home in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.  Bobby enlisted right out of high school and became a Marine.  He was wounded in the Pacific campaign.  My father's brother, John Thomas, was also a Marine who was on a carrier in Tokyo Bay the day the Japanese surrendered.  These men and women give the best years of their lives and I am humbled and grateful. Thank you, Dad. Thanks, Uncle Bobby and Uncle Tom.

Veterans Day, 2009

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

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.

Source for image: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1030/766205851_414d3d7035.jpg
Source for poem: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm