Behold the flags of the thousandsThat led in defense of the right,But where are the heroes who bore them?Why come they no more to our sight?
Their arms are stacked at the border,Old battlefields rustle with grain,But longing for them is unanswered,And no one may greet them again.
They listen not to the roll call,They will not return from the strife-The cause they pursue in the futureIs higher and dearer than life.
All rolls of honor my perish,The sun may burn out in the sky,All traces of culture may vanish,But patriots never shall die.
Behold the holiest sanctumWhere races of men yet have trod,Where flags are the pledge of a nationWhose dead have kept faith with their God!