3910 – May 22, 2026 – The Enemy of Liberty is Threefold! – Flanders Fields is a geographic region spanning the provinces of West and East Flanders in Belgium and parts of northern France. It became famously known as a major, heavily contested World War I battleground on the Western Front. The area encompasses several historical sites, memorials, and cemeteries across the region:
This poem, Flanders Field, was written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. At that time he noted how poppies quickly grew around the graves of those who died in the battle.
According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. In Flanders Fields was first published on
December 8 of that year in the London magazine Punch.
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.
In honoring our fallen – from wars so long ago (and yet today we conflict) … AND in honor of our 250th Year of Independence, I have been sharing on SUBSTACK – the writings of Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis.” (the first of 16 writings by that name) Today’s will go up this afternoon – and is titled, The Enemy of Liberty is Threefold: Godlessness, Apathy, and Ignorance.
The National Moment of Remembrance asks all Americans to pause for exactly one minute of silence or reflection at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. This tradition honors the men and women who died in military service to the United States. The 3:00 p.m. time was deliberately chosen because it is when most Americans are enjoying their holiday afternoon, making it a fitting time to reflect on the freedoms that were made possible by fallen service members. The initiative was first proclaimed in 2000. You can learn more about its history and mission through the National Moment of Remembrance
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