Poppies
Jim was sitting at his desk. In 30 minutes along with most of Enterprise's Command team he was to beam down for a memorial ceremony. It hardly seemed possible that five years had passed since Nero's attack on the Federation.
Starfleet Command had worked tirelessly to assemble as many of the survivors as well as the Enterprise "Heroes" for the memorial service. The scale of the effort boggled the mind. Events were planned on New Vulcan, Risa, and Earth. Even the coordinated ceremony on earth was massive with groups assembling for remembrance at Gettysburg, Normandy, Punch Bowl, Arlington, Westminster Cathedral, Yakusuni, Stalingrad, Thermopylae and other memorials. The Enterprise Crew would all be at Starfleet HQ, and all events would be synchronized at 1600 San Francisco time.
Kirk looked at the PADD on the desk, as the chief "hero" a role that he still struggled with, he was expected to give a speech. He was going to keep it short. There was less chance of trouble that way.
He had looked at a lot of material as preparation. He had read selections by Lincoln, Churchill, Confucius and other philosophers, politicians and orators. Three things had stood out above everything else.
Lincoln's "We cannot hallow … "from the Gettysburg Address.
Simonides' "Go stranger and to the Spartans tell, that here obedient to their laws we fell."
McRae's
"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."
Golden Gate Cemetery
Jim stepped up to the Podium – his would be the final speech before honors were rendered.
He flipped the pages of the binder on the podium to his speech.
We gather here today to remember our heroes. Beings gathered from around the Federation. Beings inspired by a dream, united by a common oath to serve others. Obedient to their orders, and following a code as old as the seas of earth, "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back."
We remember today those who answered the call to rescue Vulcan. We went out, too many did not come back. It is important that they be remembered. Like the honored dead of Gettysburg, the "row on row" of Flanders fields. We remember you our friends, coworkers, officers and enlisted. We remember the parties: Wetting down new stripes; Hale and Farewells as transfers occurred; drunken brawls in places dimly remembered.
At Gettysburg President Lincoln observed, "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." That is true, we can not add anything. But we have an important task that only we can do.
We will remember them, we will remember their deeds, and we will honor their commitment to service. In the ancient tradition of warriors everywhere we sing the songs of their battles. Or we will read the timeless words of others and remember our friends.
In closing I would like to read John McCrae's poem, 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.
Jim turned the page and took a red paper poppy from a pocket and pinned it to his tunic. He then executed a left face and marched back to his seat on the dais. He sat quietly while the honor guard fired three volleys, and a bugler played taps.
Author's Notes:
It is just a couple of days before what we call Veterans Day. I normally observe it at a WWII memorial a few miles from my house. This year I am writing a fic inspired by Starquilter57's In Memorium.
Poppies grew wild in the cemeteries of France and Belgium during the First World War. Many Veterans organizations including the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States) and the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) have embraced the poppy as a sign of remembrance.
The quote "You have to go out but you don't have to come back." is attributed to Patrick Etheridge Station Keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lifesaving Service Station.