Full text of Keep the Faith

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'

If ye break faith
with us who die
W c shall not sleeJJ,
though poppies g-row
In Flanders field .

V- 37 1

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014

https://archive.org/details/keepfaith00fede

''That these dead shall not hatt.1e
died in vain ''
La t niah I dr

1n

d a dr am.

I dreamed that I r u h d in h
in -clad hill id in Fran
1n
wilight of a day that a lm t d n .
In th
alley b low I h ard h har h l· nl of
metal beating against m tal- th i iou ma hi1wgun pitting Death- and, a the barra mo d
clo r, the shrill whining of h 11 through the
air, and the dull roar a th y bur t om wh re
down th valley.' And I h ard th shout and
strang rie of men who fought with m n.
In the dim light be ide m lay a boy.
He just lifted hi h ad out of th mud a liUl smiled- and died.
eventy-tw o thou. and m ri an di d lik that
in France and p • ed along th tor h to th ir
comrade in Fran e and to u - their ·omra<l s
back horn.

o nation in the hi tory of th world was I s •
prepared for war than wa
meri a wh n th war
began.
[3]

o natio n wa h tt r prep ared when it ende d.
rmi tic wa igned Ame rica was
Wh n th
turni ng out war ma erial on uch a gigan tic scale
and at :u ·h a high peed that the whol e worl d
wond r d.

M n - m n y- mat rial.
Guns - a ropla n - hip - moto r-tru ck gas - food - "T T" - 1 como tive - hoe hand -gr nad s - bull t - . ar hligh t - tank sLib rty moto r. - h 11 - helm t - tents - rifles
- bayo n ts- mach ine-g un - battl e hips.
Our

lli s kn w.

Uerm any kn w.

E r ninet y days nearl y a milli on Ame rican
oldiers- train d to fight - equip ped to figh tea,ger to fig·ht - ,v re landi ng in Fran ce- read y to
da, h fon;v ard on th doub l -quic k to take their
pl~c in the battl -line.
Ev r r day gr at fleet of ship - laden until
the rod lmv in the wate r- were steam ing full
p d ah ad throu gh Germ an dang er zones in to
Fr nch harb or and dump ing their cargo es of
[ -! ]

Ameri an ·w ar 1nat rial upon . .
in Fran

111

n an do k -

Ever da and all throuo·h th nio·ht . . \1rn.'r1 nn
"orkm n ,Y r loadin • thi . . \111 ri nn fr ig-h t into
m ri an fr i ·ht ar and ru ~hing it nt. tt p sp , d
o er Americ an r ilr ad t . . \.111 ri an arnn )s on
the merica n battl -front- in Fn. n
:'..\I n- mon

- mat rial.

In eight en month ' . . \.m n
billion dollar .

n

1

l eio·ht, 'n

And p nt it.

"\Vhen the "'ar end d ther' wer ov 'r a rnillion
and a half fine m ri an boy: in our c·arn ps over
here, ready to fight, ag r to fight. rrlwy ·wore
the sam mat rial that th G rman: got aeqw intc<l
rg-onn, forc ,·t. Jt
with at St. Mihi 1 and th
co t million to train and quip thc'm. rrhcy
But they fought
didn't have their gr at chan •
m riean fig!lting
for Victory a a hig part of th
machin . Th y w re ready, and U rmany knew
they were ready.
1

[ ,j ]

Am ri a was turning out war mat rials so fa t
rmistic wa igned that in the next
wh n th
f w w k - before all the machin ery could be
stopp d- w had enough- guns, clothes, ammun ition, a roplane , trucks- to equip in every detail
an w army a larg a the one we already had in
Franc .
nd w :, ha e that materia l right now.
It fought to bring a speedy victory just as much
a. th materia l which were actuall y used. It
was r ,ady. And Germa ny knew it was ready.

@~

'

,~-------...

~... ~
..

I
~

::::::-,,,,

Som time la t summe r, came a Germa n secret
r i ag nt to th Germa n Great Headq uarters
and told th Kai er, or on Hinden burg, or Ludendorff, or k om body the big things Americ a was
doin to win the war.
nd .. om body gave a long, loud laugh.
Bu t th next day anothe r report of the same
kind am in- and the next day anothe r-and
th n x day- and the next[6]

ntil aft r littl whil
1n b d quit lau~hin()'
and ent a hurr -up n1 a·
1,
D.
., that H
n
tut d uthori i
f th
b glad, ery , r o-lad ind
T

nd ould W a hino-t n pl
reply promptl, .

a' t

Strang , i n't it.
ermany had th m n and
and he had th d ir - t
for many month .

h had th gun
n with th War

Why then, all thi • ru h about th('
1n ovemb r.
There i
know ' it.

JU

n

n ·w r- th

whol

:mi.'iieo
world

ermany wa • 'car d lo D alh.
Sh knew that if h didn 't quit whil t}w
quitting wa good,
m ri ·an
r plan
w uld
blacken her ki - Am ri ·an h 11 • w uld blow
her i tie off th map- and m ri • n ·oldi r.•
would be marching through th . tr t: of B rli n
singing " Hail, Hail, th
ang'
11 H r ! " b for
the leave were gr en again in nt r d n Lind n.
It co t a 1 t of money t
[7 J

·ar a nation to d ath.

Gen ral Per. hing' taff report officially that
if th War had lasted for six months longer-one
hundr d thousand more American soldiers would
have b n killed.
One hundred thousand of these American boys
that are coming back to u every day now, would
have b en smiling and dying in the mud of France
- if the Armistice had been signed last Thursday
instead of last ovember.
Ar we grat ful to those who died .
Are w grateful to those who were maimed for
life in our fight ?
Are w grateful to have so many boys back
with u saf and sound ?
Is there enough gratitude in the world to express
the thank giving in our hearts because Victory
came o oon?

Th • money you and I are putting in to the
, ictory Loan i the money we spent to end the
W r ix months- perhaps twelve months- ahead
of time.
[

]

1◄..,r

One hundr d th u and . . 1n n a11 . . - in
mud.
,Y ell-w

ot our

111

11 J '

n h

w rt h.

, e might all hav b 11 w ari11~ n )f t ho~P
little black arm-band with n, • lcl ~iar <.nit.

When, retreating into th Fath rla,nd, . th
whipped and beaten G rman rffil
·ross d th
Rhine and n ter d G rma11 •i ti ·, tlH y W( r
welcomed as conquerin • h r s. 1 t, t' n row:
of cheering German p opl who r w l tl tlw c·urbs,
they marched und r " r h of Triumph'' with
their flags unfurl d- with th ir bands pla,ying
"Deutschland ub r 11 ' and with How 'rs in
the muzzles of their gun .
1

1

' It is to laugh!" a th y u , d to .-ay in U< nrn1ny
beforethe,Var. 'Iti t laug·h!"
1

[ u]

On th eleventh of November last year a French
soldier by the name of Foch said'' I t shall not be!''

With cold foresight and the knowledge born of
experienc , he threw a cordon of guns and bayonets
and m n around the German people. To-day,
with their Allies, half a million of America's
oldiers stand guard over the German border.
Half a million of our soldiers are on the job to
tay- un til th World is safe again.
*

*

*

It osts $2. 74 a day to keep one of those soldiers
th re
v r one and a quarter million dollars
a day.
I .·

jt

worth it?
* * *

It is ·oing to co t us an even $200 to bring
each on of them home again- when that job is
finished.
I it worth it ?
*

*

*

Ther are some other things for us to pay for
b fore we're through- before we finish our job.
1

1 wo hundred and eighty thousand of our
sol di r were wounded in this War. Some of
th 1n are well now- some of them aren't- some
f them never will be.

we ~ got to bind up th ir \V und ' G nd p r
f th 111 w \:
m
for their nur ing-a nd for
h u . 1
got to buy new arm and I o- - tbr
and twent y-fou r arm and I o·

And, we, th
raise the mone y-

meric an P opl , h·

You and I and th famil
If we are going to finish

that Ii

got to

n xi d<JOr

ur job.

The Bank s?
Why- if we leav it to th Bani • to tak J rno:-;t
of the Victo ry Loan wh r will ur I rosp ri ty
be ?- the prosp erity that w 'v w rk d f r and
saved for-a nd waite d for- th pr ·p rity that
is just aroun d th corn r now - pr011id d w do
our share .
H und
Amer ican bu ·in • • ha · ot t hav
to t· k
banki ng y tern b hind it- if we ar
advan tage of the pro perity that i ur fr th
askin g- and the gr ater activ ity in v ry kind f
indu try- with plent y of job and better tim s
for u all.
for us
If w leave th Bank · t fini h ur j
we'll hav the kind of pro p rity that : hows it 1f
in slow bu ine - low wag - f w j bs.

[ 11 ]

Thi: loan i: our bu ·in - the bu ine of the
Am ri •an p pl as a whole, the peop le who won
th War. And it i good bu ine l

f thi thing , too- the
rrh r 's anot h r id
inv :tm nt id of it.
W don' t think f it very often- thi matt er
t.
f •
J ut buyi ng Vi tory ote i n't like drop ping
mon y down a w 11.
In t ad of sayin g "The re it goes !" when we
put fifty or a hun lr d or a thou sand dolla rs into
th Vi tory Loan , w ay '' Here it come ! ''- for
v ry ino-1 dolla r we put in come s back to us
again with inter t.
\\Te m rican didn 't put our mone y into this
War b cau e it wa a good busin ess prop ositio n.
Vv didn 't think of the inter est- and we didn 't
car abou t it ither .
And w don' t ar abou t it now, for its own sake.
"\ 're not going to buy this Victo ry Loan just
b cau it' a afe, soun d, mone y-ma king busin ess
prop o .. it.ion that pays good inter est. That isn't
th r a on.
But th int r t is there just the ame.
[ 12 ]

w bu ?-y u and I- i
ry Ti t r
nt w can niake the be t po ibl inv
nit d tntc~
th Go ernm nt and p pl f th
of m ri a and b hind it . \nd th (10,· rnn1 nt
lh r w put into t.h
pledg it v ord that
ba 'k t U t:,111
Vi tor Lib rt Loan
dolla r for dolla r- ,:vith int r
I • ther anything- mu h cf r thnin that in t,hi ,
worl l .
EY

.L

The killin g i::, over.
It lasted four y ar , t hr mon h: an i f our t n
oar
days . We American w r in it for on
even mon ths, and fiv d y .
nd w w n t to forg ,t it
nd now it is over .
and live the r t of our liv the wa ..\! migh ty
God inten ded we shou ld ]iv th m in I Pac·, and
Free dom and ome d gr e of IIapp in s..
But even ty-tw o t hou and m rican • died in
a nd left a job for u to fini h - firs .

I◄ ranc
1

" I f ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
I n Flanders fields."

In Flander Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
Th larks, still bravely singing, fly,
carce 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.
T al<e up our quarrel tvith the foe !
To you from failing hands we throw
The tor h; be yours to hold it hiah !
If ye br ak faith with us who die
W shall not sleep, though poppies grotu
In Flanders fields.
Li ut.,Col. MCCRAE

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Gover nment Loan Organ ization
Second Fed elral R e, e rve Dist rlic l

Liberty Loan Committee