Ninety years ago today, in the fields of Flanders, the guns of the First World War fell silent. 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. ShortContinue reading “On Veterans’ Day”
Tag Archives: World War I
On Enemy Ace
At the bookstore a few weeks ago I saw something on the graphic novel rack that made me stop and do a double take. Showcase Presents: Enemy Ace. I pulled it off the shelf. Glanced at the cover — a red Fokker triplane. Flipped through it. Five hundred pages of World War I aerial dogfightingContinue reading “On Enemy Ace”
On Veteran’s Day
In Flanders, eighty-nine years ago today, the guns fell silent, and one of the great follies of our times came to an end — 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 gunsContinue reading “On Veteran’s Day”
On Veteran's Day
In 1983 CBS aired a Peanuts special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown. In the film Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back) Charlie Brown, Linus, Pepperment Pattie, Marcie, and Snoopy went to France. What Have We Learned picks up shortly thereafter, with the kids visiting Flanders and the beaches of Normandy where theyContinue reading “On Veteran's Day”
On Alfred Anderson
Alfred Anderson, the last surviving witness to the 1914 Christmas truce on the Western Front of World War I, passed away on Monday, the 21st. Nearly a year ago in The Observer Anderson reflected on his World War I experiences: On 24 and 25 December, Anderson’s unit was billeted in a dilapidated farmhouse, away fromContinue reading “On Alfred Anderson”
On Veteran's Day
Today is Veteran’s Day, commemorating the armistace that ended the fighting in World War I nearly ninety years ago. 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.Continue reading “On Veteran's Day”