Memorial Day 2005

On a thousand small town New England greens,
the old white churches hold their air
of sparse, sincere rebellion; frayed flags
quilt the graveyards of the Grand Army of the Republic

The stone statues of the abstract Union Soldier
grow slimmer and younger each year-
wasp-waisted, the doze over muskets
and muse through their sideburns…

- For the Union Dead, by Robert Lowell



"Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to create a firestorm in the target city. This technique makes use of incendiary bombs to start a massive fire, and can also include a preliminary bombing run designed to prepare the city for burning."

• Hamburg, Germany, July 28, 1943: 42,000 civilians killed by the British and the US.
  
  
• Dresden, Germany, October 1944 - April 1945: 25,000 - 35,000 civilians killed by the British and the US.
  
  
• Tokyo, Japan, February - May, 1945: over 100,000 people killed by the US.
  
  
• Kobe, Japan, March 17, 1945: 8,841 residents killed by the US.
  

- From Firebombing at Answers.com