IN FLANDERS FIELD – LT. COLONEL JOHN McCRAE

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.

Sadly, Santa Clarita has lost another young man in the War in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense hasn’t announced it yet, but KHTS is reporting that Marine Jake Suter, of Stevenson Ranch, died in Afghanistan this week.

Today I remember all the young men and women, the soldiers, sailors, Airmen, Marines and guardsmen who have died in service of our Country. Please have a look at CNN’s War Dead memorial page. You can zoom into the Santa Clarita area and remember Sgt. Ian Gelig, Spc. Dennis Lee Sellen, Pfc. Cole W. Larsen, Lance Cpl. Richard Patrick Slocum, and Pfc. Jose-Ricardo Flores-Mejia and many others.

EDIT: This may be Private Jake Suter’s MySpace page. If it is, Suter graduated West Ranch High School where he played football. Pictures on his MySpace page show that he graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot in September. His MySpace page shows a last login date of May 24, 2010. Friends connected to him through MySpace are mourning him on his wall. A memorial Facebook page has been set up as well.