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My grandmother would always refer to today as Armistice Day (two minutes' silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month because that was the time when the armistice became effective. Two minutes to recall WWI and WWII). But at 102 that's the world she truly grew up in. Today we pay tribute to all veterans in all wars. Thank you all for your sacrifice and bravery in protecting the American way of life. There was a poem written that is a legacy to a horrific World War I battle, but it speaks to many following and a tribute to all who gave or are giving so unselfishly.
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.
Col. John McCrea
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