In Flanders Fields 

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. 

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, in 1915 during the terrible bloodshed of the second battle of Ypres  during the First World War wrote of the flowers which lived on among the graves of so many  brave dead soldiers who fought that we might all live in freedom... One of these headstones honours a young soldier  who was only 15 years old.

This moving poem was written so many years ago and still young men, and now women, are dying as man's inability to live in harmony with other inhabitants of this planet continues to take its toll. Will we never learn ?

 We would all do well  as we prepare to once again honour our fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day to learn from the wisdom and experience of a group of  magnificent  ladies who are six of the 641 young women who served as members of the Canadian Red Cross Corps  during the Second World War and who experienced first hand the horrors of  that war. One of these amazing women, Dorothy Daughtrey, is a lady I feel very honoured to call friend.  The friendship we share is  a gift I very much cherish.

 The ladies are all  members of the 'Overseas Club' which was founded shortly after the end of the Second World War and  met recently in Montreal  to renew acquaintances and memories of those long ago days. During the  reunion they were interviewed by a reporter about their recollections of those days and the events of that time.

One of those splendid women, Peggy Wegrich, now  80 years young,  was quoted as saying that she didn't see the Veteran Soldiers selling Remembrance Day Poppies as elderly, grey-haired, or frail but  " still  young men at war." 

Phyllis Cumas who is also 80 stated that  a flood of memories comes at this time of year .. " some you don't want to remember, like the bombers returning to base with gaps in their formations ."  She stated she prefers to  focus on "the good, funny things that happened" during the war. She helped  staff the Ontario Servicemen's Club one block from London's Piccadilly Circus - the only such club that was open to all ranks and all nations at the time. She recalled the day it opened and that someone had lost the key to the front door so all the dignitaries had to enter through the kitchen. The  club welcomed  on average 1,500 servicemen on any given day , but that number doubled on May 8, 1945, with VE Day celebrations.

 Peggy Ruddick,83  who worked in military hospitals said her memories were bitter sweet "because just about  everyone lost somebody or knew that not everyone was coming back.  We felt we couldn't do enough or give enough of ourselves. "  Ruddick feels very strongly that there should be no more wars.

 87-year-old Dorothy Daughtrey who lost her husband in that war, lives each day with the memory of those long ago days. Dorothy says what  bothers her most is that "we knew why we were going overseas and we knew who the enemy was.  Today, they don't." 

Dorothy King, 91 is a resident of the same Montreal  Seniors residence as Dorothy Daughtrey and  agreed with the other ladies  about the importance of keeping the memories alive of those who had sacrificed so much  in giving their lives for our freedom. 

Pauline Ouimet, 81  made the point that Remembrance Day  brings back the memories of the friends and battles lost as they share the camaraderie of the Corps Sisters  and  commemorate this day once again.

Jean MacLean,83 suggested  that mothers around the world should  stand up and say "ENOUGH" to war.

 Wise women indeed. 'Magnificent' doesn't seem quite adequate in describing these Ladies and the contribution they made to our country and to each and every one of us.