On a hillside in eastern France they stand at attention, rows of simple white crosses marking the lives of those slain during the wars which ravished this border region.  

It is not easy to forget a battle that waged in your backyard.  For them it was geographically no different than Wisconsin waging war on Illinois would have been for us. 

But fame is theirs – and future days
On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell – when cold neglect is dead –
"These for their country fought and bled."

 
~Philip Freneau
I am spending the day here once again, remembering those long gone and those like my husband and son who have taken up the torch of freedom for the rest of us.  I will think as well of their wives, mothers, and children who bear the burden of separation and ultimately, loss.