The Fair Fields of France
I have been overwhelmed by the beauty of the monuments, by the scale of the destruction, which is still evident a century later, and by the memory of the deeds of the men and women who struggled here. But I am oddly glad my tour was made up of men and women of a certain age. For I fear that young men—and some young women—might still be seduced by the glory of war, as their great-grandfathers were. For no matter how diligently the museum curators and historians and guides try to make the carnage and suffering real, I fear that when their words fall on the ears of the young, they only intensify the desire to emulate warriors who were willing to endure such horrors.
And after seeing the "fair fields of France" that still bear the marks of the fighting, I want them to hear another message. The last poem I will quote this trip will be by Housman.
Oh stay at home, my lad, and plough
The land and not the sea,
And leave the soldiers at their drill,
And all about the idle hill
Shepherd your sheep with me.
Oh stay with company and mirth
And daylight and the air;
Too full already is the grave
Of fellows that were good and brave
And died because they were.
The Montsec American Memorial is one of the most moving monuments from the Great War. At its center is not a statue of a general or a common solider, not an allegorical image of Liberty or Victory, not a cenotaph or Stone of Remembrance. There is instead a relief map of the terrain the American troops had to cross to reach these heights. Looking out from the monument, the visitor is overwhelmed by two thoughts, which come and go in quick succession: One is “This is the most beautifully cultivated landscape anywhere, and there could be no more perfect human life than tiling it in peace and enjoying its bounty.” And the other, “How could anyone push aside the desire to live another day and steel himself to rush toward the summits of these hills, knowing that trenches, barbed wire, machines guns, and perhaps gas awaited him?”
The Hotel Jardin de Mess illuminated by the sun setting across the River Meuse. It was built as a mess for officers when the city was surrounded by barracks in the years between 1870 and 1914. It is now a delightful hotel with an innovative restaurant. I enjoyed my stay there and hope to return
The emblem of the Lafayette Escadrille on the gates that lead to the monument to that famous squadron of American aviators serving in the French Air Service—at Marnes-la-Coquette.
The Lafayette Esadrille Memorial, which was erected by private donations and maintained by a private foundation until just this year, when it came under the aegis of the American Battle Monuments Commission. I am proud the U.S. government is now caring for the memory of these men who thought they served their country best by wearing the uniform of France.
Vimy
Just a week ago, 30,000 Canadains came to join Prince Charles and Prime Minister Trudeau at the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge.
From the base of a flagpole at Vimy Ridge: one of the royal badges of Canada.
“At the going down of the sun, and at its rising, / We will remember them.”
This area has been left largely undisturbed since 1918, so it is especially dangerous. Even from land that has been tilled constantly since then, tons of ordinance, some of it still dangerous, is recovered every year.
A note left a Vimy Ridge.
One of the college student hosts the Canadian government sends over to staff its war memorials.
The flags of Canada, France, and Newfoundland. The first and last are the current flags, but under banners that bore the Union Jack in the canton, both Canada and Newfoundland, which were then separate independent dominions, sent troops to defend France.
A hundred years ago this landscape was all mud, the trenches were deep, and there were no trees. The trees that shelter the battlefield at Beaumont-Hamel have all been brought from Canada.