The Shrine of Remembrance is located in Melbourne, Australia. It is one of the largest war memorials in Australia and was originally built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I (1914 – 1918). Erected between 1928 and 1934 it was constructed during a time of great unemployment and financial crisis in Australia. 300,000 people were present during the opening of the memorial. This huge granite structure is on top of a hill and is surrounded by green lawns, gardens and pine trees. It now serves a memorial to all of the men and women of Australia who have died in wars.

Each year on November 11^th Armistice Day, there is a memorial service at the shrine. The central sanctuary has a polished marble slab, the Stone of Remembrance, on which is engraved the words "Greater love hath no man" from John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends." There is located above the stone a hole in the roof of the hall. It is designed so that only on November 11^th at exactly 11:00 am each year, a ray of sunlight falls directly on the word "love" engraved in the stone to honor the anniversary of the end of World War I.

Lita and I have been in London on Armistice Day and it is marked by ceremonies everywhere. One sees red poppies on monuments as well as being worn by people. In fact, Remembrance day, on Armistice Day is known as Poppy Day as well. So why the flower poppy? It has become an international symbol of remembrance for those who died in World War I and the wars that followed. Why? Well, it started with Dr. John McCrae,a Canadian physician who enlisted during the first great war and was made a Medical Officer when he arrived in Europe. McCrae wrote a poem, during a pause in a battle, after the death of his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer that is the reason for poppies being the symbol it has become. The poem was eventually published in Punch magazine. By 1918 the poem was known throughout the allied world. An American woman, Monia Michael, read the poem and wrote a responding poem. She adopted the custom of wearing a poppy in memory of the war dead. The practice quickly caught on and spread around the allied world. Today it remains the symbol for remembering the war dead. The poem Lieutenant Colonel John McCrea wrote in 1915 is this one:

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.

The poppies the poem refers to grew in abundance in Flanders where the war casualties were buried. This past Spring Lita and I visited Normandy to see the battle sites and graves of the soldiers who died there in World War II. It is impressive to see row after row of white crosses covering acres of lawn. It is dramatic evidence of the great debt we owe to those who served in protection of this country.