Remembrance and Peace

A bus tour in Belgium helped us understand war

An American World War Two Cemetary and Memorial Site in Belgium. -Photo by Trista Signe Ainsworth

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”
― Rumi

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Fields full of crosses, headstones, and the names of loved ones inscribed upon them. There were too many to count, and we felt the loss in our hearts. As we traversed Belgium on two bus tours, we learned the human costs of war and how they are remembered and felt every day by those living there.

The spirits of those lost on all sides seemed to whisper, 'Find a way to peace.'

Seemingly endless graves of American soldiers honored at this cemetery in Belgium. -Photo by Trista Signe Ainsworth.

The First and Second World Wars hit close to home for many generations of people living in Belgium and beyond. Our tour guide shared his father’s experience during the war as well as how it affected him as a young boy.

With reminders of the conflicts, such as old bunkers and even farmers still finding explosives in their fields in current times, the people here will never forget.