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In memory of Memorial Day, 2002, one of our contributors, Mr. Stan Scislowski of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, has graciously composed a poem to honor the fallen soldiers laid to rest at the Normandy American National Cemetery at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer (which overlooks Omaha Beach).
His words speak from the heart...
A D-Day Poem
In humble tribute to the Memory
of our comrades who gave their lives on D-Day
Here, at Omaha Beach Cemetery,
close by the waters of the Bay of the Seine
lie buried our comrades who gave their lives
in the great crusade of Liberation
which began on the beaches of Normandy
in the waking hours of June 6, 1944.
Their last resting place overlooks the beach
where they came ashore to meet the foe in battle,
only to fall where the sea lapped the sands
where they died.
They lie here on a gentle slope
where the wide spread of Christian crosses
and Star of David stones
stand sentinel above their graves
like ranks of living soldiers on parade.
Green grows the well-manicured lawn
between the rows of white stone markers
On these hallowed acres of French soil
where they died.
Their spirit, however, lives on
in the hearts and memories of those
who so dearly loved them.
A monument rises majestically on this site
in Normandy,
a monument nobly and artistically crafted
to honour them in their sacrifice,
a monument of columns and a statue
of a soldier, that stirs the emotions
in all who come here to pay tribute
to our Nation's gallant War Dead.
These young men who lie here,
so many barely out of their teens,
stormed in from the angry seas
to land on a hostile shore.
They died in the foam-flecked water.
Some felt the yielding sand beneath their boots
before they too, died,
their rich red blood saturating the sands where they fell.
Others carried the fight inland,
only to fall in death amidst the dunes
and in the village streets.
Still others fell in the grassy fields and orchards
beyond the tumult on the beach.
9386 headstones mark their last resting place.
They lie beneath the green sod
in an alien land whose bosom now holds
their earthly remains.
They are heroes.
They died at the very threshold
of what should have been
an abundant and fulfilling life.
Their dreams, and the dreams
of those who loved them,
have been swept away
by the cruel fates of war.
In the five decades that have passed
since they gave their 'all',
they've known no weariness or pain,
nor sadness nor joy,
nor the soft caress of a woman's love,
nor the loving embrace of little children.
Nor have they known the torments of anger,
despair and ill-health.
In these many years long since
those tumultuous days of a Norman summer,
they 'rose not to bright dawns,
nor stood in awe at a lightning's flash
or heard the thunder of summer storms.
The song of the robin greeted them
no more at daybreak; they've been resting.
They've known not the joys of autumn
and the rustle of the leaves underfoot,
as we have in the coolness of late Octobers.
Nor have they exulted to the glories
of an awakening spring.
Their sleep is endless.
Their cheeks have not felt the gentle touch
of a summer's breeze, nor the sting
of the frigid gusts of winter.
Though the world has trembled many times
to the thunderous echoes of the guns of war
since that day when they passed out of the sight
of their comrades and were no more,
they heard them not, for their sleep is everlasting.
They fought the good fight and are now resting,
a sleep that knows no dawn. . .no tomorrow.
We, who have walked out of the shadows
of the Valley of Death have remembered
and will remember them as the long years pass.
Yes, we will remember until that time
when we join them in that white company
where the brave shall never die.
Stan Scislowski
Thank you, Stan.
Original poem from messages received on 20 May 2002.
Originally submitted on: 21 May 2002.
The poem 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.
If you would care to read more writings by Stan Scislowski, you can do so by going to the following section of this website.
World War II Stories: Canadian Army Stories
Would you care to add your World War II Veteran's Scrapbook page?
We can work with you and present a fitting tribute to your military
veteran on a page similar to this.
If interested, please contact this webmaster at the following:
ideal21tc@cox.net
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