In Flander's Fields the poppies
blow
Between the crosses, row on row....
That mark our place; and in
the sky
The larks, still bravely sing, fly
Scare hear amid the
gusbelow...
We are the dead. Short day ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw
sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flander's
Field....
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hand 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 Flander's
Field.
From Flander's Field by John McCrae
The poem above was written by John McCrae to commemorate the 150,000 soldiers who died on Flander's Field in Blegium during a 1915 (WWI) battle between the French, Canadian, and British armies and the Germans. Since this poem was written, there have been many Flander's Fields. Pearl Harbor and Omaha Beach during World War II, Pork Cho Hill during the Korean War and the MeKong River delta, the Ho Minh Trail, Da Nang, Saigon, Haiphong, and Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War to name a few.
After Japan's defeat during World War II, the United States decided to support the French when that country attempted to regain control over Asia. This course of action eventually led to the Vietnam War.
Many young men from Mankato either volunteered for service or were drafted into the military during this conflict. The Vietnam War was not officially a war for many years. Many returned with emotional scars that would last a lifetime, some returned injured, some didn't return at all. None of these men received a hero's welcome as soldiers returning from World War II had.
Mankatoans in general supported the young people who went abroad to fight in the war. They sent care boxes and wrote letters. Several high school girls made dresses and sent jewelry for the Vietnamese teens that were helping the soldiers in Vietnam.
Mankato, like every other city in the country, also had its protesters. Several demonstrations were held at Mankato State University by students protesting the war. When the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War returned home, they were asked why they "fought in this bad war" according to Chuck Draheim of Mankato.
Of the men of the Mankato area who served in Vietnam, 29 were lost in the war. A memorial to these brave soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country was erected on Stolzman Road on November 11, 1988. You can view the Memorial here.
To learn more about the Vietnam War, you can visit one of the links below:
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