Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1919 — Flanders Fields Poppy and Torch of Liberty for War Service Flags [ARTICLE]

Flanders Fields Poppy and Torch of Liberty for War Service Flags

By MISS MOINA MICHAEL,

University of Georgia

Take up our quarrel with the foe: And now the torch and poppy red To you from falling handß we throw We wear In honor of our dead. The torch; be yours to hold It high; Fear naught that ye have died for If ye break faith with us who die naught; We shall not sleep through poppies grow We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders fields. In Flanders fields. ■ —Lieut, John McCrae. ' —Molna Michael. Out of every great event and for every greats cause has come some fitting memorial. The great American organization of mercy has its red cross ; the Y. M. C. A. its red triangle. For the boys serving their country on land or sea came the service star flag and pin. The service flag met the psychological demand during the war, but ‘now a new need has arisen. Something is needed to keep alive that thrill yhich we all feel now for the inspiration and the triumph of the fight for democracy. The poppy should be the victory flower, and the torch of liberty the emblem chosen by a grateful world tp memorialize the devoted sacrifice of men who, like the hero author of “In Flanders Fields;” gave their all to save humanity. Let us keep faith with them. The number of men who served could be shown by the service star—of blue if they lived and of gold if they have died—in the upper left-hand corner; service bars in the lower left-hand corner would tell the length of time served with the colors. The insignia of the branch of the service in the upper right-hand comer, and wound stripes—nf warranted —in the lower right corner would make the story complete at a glance. x