Lest We Forget

Service to country was always important, especially in my Dad's family, all the way back to the American Revolutionary War. My Grandfather Wendell W Merrill served in World War One in the Medical Corps as a dentist....He then returned home and practiced dentistry for many years in Logan, Utah.

This is him in 1918 when he married my Grandma Beena, not long before the end of the War.

All five of his sons went on to serve....

John, Bill, Bob, Les (my dad) and Pete. 1995

From my Grandma Beena's journal.....

“My five sons were all in the service of our country. Bill in the Air Force and flew many missions over China.  Peter was in the Marines and served in the South Pacific. John in the Army and served in the far north, Hudson’s Bay. Les served in Germany, Bob served for three years, also in Germany. They were all spared and returned home safely another reason for my gratitude.”

I too am grateful for their service and all those who have sacrificed for my freedom.

It wasn't until I moved to Canada as a teenager that I remember hearing the poem "In Flander's Fields" by Canadian John McCrae. Now one of my all time favourites....Also put to music, It was also the first song I learned in school choir in Canada. Simply beautiful.