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Oh land, blest land, hold high in fond remembrance

Those who served in answer to your call.

They did not shrink when danger lurked before them.

Instead, they stood prepared to give their all.

Hold fast to memories of their proven valor,

Forget not why they fought each reckoned foe.

May all they’ve given never be forgotten.

Their dauntless dedication willed it so.

Oh land, great land, remember most the fallen

Who held their lives but servants to the goal,

That they might not have died in wasted warring

To row on row of graves, the bitter toll.

This day departed souls voice loud these questions:

Will we in memory live throughout the years?

Will you pursue the path of hard-won freedom,

Or will our cherished hopes dissolve in tears?

Oh land they loved, shall discord drown their voices?

Shall it bring down the cause of liberty?

Can you not grasp the threads of bygone glory

And with them weave a land secure and free?

It was to you they willed the blood-bought banner,

A sacred trust that dare not be denied.

Oh land, their land, immortal souls beseech you:

Let peace with justice be your constant guide.

Editor’s note: Robert Lewis Dey, of Littleton, submitted his poem “Remember” to honor those who have served, particularly today, Veterans Day. Dey lived in Craig from 1958 to 1962 and was a Moffat County High School teacher. He later was a teacher and administrator at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely for 25 years until retirement. Dey served two periods as a volunteer with the U.S. Navy and one as a volunteer U.S. Army active reservist. His first wife, Kay, worked as a hospital nurse in Craig and died in 2002. He is now married to Linda and visits Northwest Colorado often.

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