Ocean Grove. Nov. 8, 2019 by Paul Goldfinger ©

In WWI  Canadian medical officer and poet Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields.”  After that the poppies became a symbol of remembrance and have been so for over 100 years.

“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.

So let’s pay tribute on November 11 to those who lost their lives in all America’s wars.

Today Eileen and I joined a group of veterans from the Jersey Shore Post 125, Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. We were set up in the lobby of the fabulous new ShopRite in Shrewsbury,  giving out red paper poppies. Most people gave a dollar or two, and some gave larger bills, dropping them into a pail on the table. And a few gave nothing, but they had to be with us and they gently took a poppy too.

I was touched by all those who stopped by our display. Many said, “Thank you for your service,” and they took a poppy while looking into our eyes.   Others said, “This is for my Dad” or “This is for my husband.” And many had glistening in their eyes.

Small children came by for a poppy as the parents watched.  A child of about 7  walked over and saluted us.  The vets saluted him back, and he was thrilled.

A teen age boy stood to the side and stared at us.  I motioned him to come over for a poppy, and he did. He said that he was a member of Junior ROTC, and he was so respectful to us.  And we thanked him for his interest and warm concern.

A young African-American woman came up to me and said, “All I have is a dollar, and that’s a lot for me, but I have to donate it.”  I told her ” A dollar is terrific.  We love dollars.” She smiled and took her poppy.

A ShopRite pharmacist  came up to us, rummaging through her purse.  “I’m so embarrassed,” she said. “I had a five here and it’s gone, but I’ll be back.” So one of our guys gave her a poppy, and sure enough, an hour later she returned with a five.

An older man, my age perhaps, came up to me with his motorized vehicle.  He wanted to talk about his time in the Navy.  He was on a fighting ship, one of the first to reach Vietnamese waters.  Another man told me that he was aboard a ship at the Bay of Pigs.

Only one person asked us what the money was used for, and one of the senior JWV vets explained how the contributions are used to help veterans such as those who live in veteran homes and hospitals in NJ.    The giving is non-denominational, and some of the recipients served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ShopRite was in the spirit of the holiday,  playing patriotic music overhead all day.

Personally, I was  a Navy doctor during Vietnam, but I spent two years in a 1400 bed Navy teaching hospital in Virginia.  So my life was never in danger, but today I felt like a representative of all those who served and even died,  especially for my med school classmate John Saunders who got caught up in the “doctor draft” and was sent to Nam, only to be killed while riding in an ambulance to help villagers in need.  He died after only about 18 months as a physician.

Some say that Americans are not patriotic these days because of political rhetoric, but today, at that ShopRite, I saw something much the opposite.

Post 125 will be offering poppies at the ShopRite in West Long Branch  (at the intersection of Rt. 35 and 36) on Sunday Nov. 10 from 8 am to 6 pm, and on Monday Nov 11, from 8 am to 6 pm.

And if you want to say something to Post 125, the Commander is Stanley Shapiro, shapvet@aol.com.

Finally I have some poppies, so if you are a vet in Ocean Grove and want a poppy, send me an email with your address, and I will deliver one to you. Or if you represent a vet that you want to remember, you can do the same until we run out.

Blogfinger @verizon.net.   Paul Goldfinger.

ShopRite in Shrewsbury. Post 125 JWV set up in the lobby. I am on the left. Eileen took the photo. 11/7/19.

RUTGERS WIND ENSEMBLE  “Air For Band.”