Heroes: the Canadian
Army
Stan Scislowski
Perth Regiment of Canada, 11th Infantry Brigade
of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division
A D-Day Poem
In humble tribute to the Memory
of our comrades who gave their lives on D-Day
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Here, at Omaha Beach Cemetery,/ |
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close by the waters of the Bay of the Seine/ |
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lie buried our comrades who gave their lives/ |
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in the great crusade of Liberation/ |
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which began on the beaches of Normandy/ |
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in the waking hours of June 6, 1944./ |
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Their last resting place overlooks the beach/ |
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where they came ashore to meet the foe in battle,/ |
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only to fall where the sea lapped the sands / |
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where they died./ |
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They lie here on a gentle slope/ |
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where the wide spread of Christian crosses / |
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and Star of David stones/ |
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stand sentinel above their graves / |
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like ranks of living soldiers on parade./ |
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Green grows the well-manicured lawn/ |
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between the rows of white stone markers/ |
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On these hallowed acres of French soil/ |
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where they died./ |
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Their spirit, however, lives on/ |
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in the hearts and memories of those/ |
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who so dearly loved them./ |
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A monument rises majestically on this site/ |
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in Normandy,/ |
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a monument nobly and artistically crafted/ |
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to honour them in their sacrifice,/ |
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a monument of columns and a statue / |
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of a soldier, that stirs the emotions / |
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in all who come here to pay tribute / |
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to our Nation's gallant War Dead./ |
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These young men who lie here,/ |
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so many barely out of their teens,/ |
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stormed in from the angry seas/ |
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to land on a hostile shore. / |
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They died in the foam-flecked water./ |
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Some felt the yielding sand beneath their boots / |
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before they too, died, / |
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their rich red blood saturating the sands where they fell./ |
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Others carried the fight inland, / |
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only to fall in death amidst the dunes/ |
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and in the village streets./ |
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Still others fell in the grassy fields and orchards / |
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beyond the tumult on the beach./ |
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9386 headstones mark their last resting place./ |
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They lie beneath the green sod/ |
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in an alien land whose bosom now holds / |
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their earthly remains./ |
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They are heroes./ |
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They died at the very threshold/ |
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of what should have been/ |
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an abundant and fulfilling life. / |
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Their dreams, and the dreams/ |
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of those who loved them,/ |
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have been swept away/ |
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by the cruel fates of war. / |
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In the five decades that have passed/ |
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since they gave their 'all', / |
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they've known no weariness or pain,/ |
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nor sadness nor joy, / |
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nor the soft caress of a woman's love, / |
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nor the loving embrace of little children./ |
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Nor have they known the torments of anger,/ |
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despair and ill-health./ |
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In these many years long since / |
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those tumultuous days of a Norman summer,/ |
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they 'rose not to bright dawns, / |
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nor stood in awe at a lightning's flash / |
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or heard the thunder of summer storms./ |
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The song of the robin greeted them / |
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no more at daybreak; they've been resting./ |
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They've known not the joys of autumn/ |
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and the rustle of the leaves underfoot,/ |
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as we have in the coolness of late Octobers. / |
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Nor have they exulted to the glories / |
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of an awakening spring. / |
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Their sleep is endless. / |
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Their cheeks have not felt the gentle touch/ |
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of a summer's breeze, nor the sting/ |
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of the frigid gusts of winter. / |
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Though the world has trembled many times/ |
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to the thunderous echoes of the guns of war/ |
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since that day when they passed out of the sight/ |
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of their comrades and were no more, / |
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they heard them not, for their sleep is everlasting./ |
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They fought the good fight and are now resting,/ |
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a sleep that knows no dawn. . .no tomorrow./ |
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We, who have walked out of the shadows / |
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of the Valley of Death have remembered/ |
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and will remember them as the long years pass./ |
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Yes, we will remember until that time/ |
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when we join them in that white company/ |
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where the brave shall never die./ |
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Stan Scislowski |
Original Story from messages received on 14 May 2002.
Story originally submitted on: 18 May 2002.
The story above, A D-Day Poem, was written and contributed by Mr. Stan Scislowski, who served with the Perth Regiment of Canada, 11th Infantry Brigade of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division. The moving story is a part of his published work entitled: Not All of Us Were Brave which was published by Dundurn Press.
Would you care to read more tales of World War II written by Mr. Stan Scislowski? His work is featured on a website devoted to the Perth Regiment of Canada. Check out this very interesting website and while you are there look at Stan's Corner .
We at World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words wish to offer our profound "Thanks" for the excellent material contributed by Mr. Stan Scislowski.
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