Memorial Day - "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak"

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Mike Cunha

History

4.8 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A short exploration of the American poet Archibald MacLeish's connection to the First World War, and his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak."

The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak

Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them?

They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.

They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us.

They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.

They say, We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.

They say, Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them.

They say, Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say: it is you who must say this.

They say, We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.

We were young, they say. We have died. Remember us.

The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podcast.bsky.social:

https://bsky.app/profile/ww1podcast.bsky.social

and the BFWWP website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Please review the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes! :)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
0:07.0	Archibald McLeish, American poet and veteran of World War I, from his poem, The Young Dead Soldiers, Do Not Speak. The
0:40.3	The You know, I'm going to Hey folks, welcome to the Battles of the First World War podcast.
1:21.8	If you listen to the recent episode with Brianna Jervat, you will recall that I have not yet visited the new American
1:30.8	World War I Memorial in Pershing Park in Washington, D.C. But I have visited Pershing Park in the past,
1:38.7	and I've been there in the last couple of years while the new memorial was under construction.
1:45.4	On the mock-up of the new memorial, you could already see a powerful quote from the poet Archibald McLeish.
1:55.3	The first time I saw the quote, I took a photo of it to save it for later study. I found a part of it to be a timeless and moving quote
2:03.6	that could be applied to the ages.
2:06.8	We leave you our deaths.
2:09.3	Give them their meaning.
2:14.7	It was only recently that I revisited the quote
2:17.2	and learned a few things about it.
2:19.7	First, it's not a quote, but a poem.
2:23.3	In honor of the Memorial Day holiday here at the end of May in the U.S.,
2:28.2	I'd like to just talk a little bit about Archibald McLeish, American poet and veteran of World War I, and his poem,
2:37.0	The Young Dead Soldiers, Do Not Speak.
2:43.6	Archibald McLeish was a learned man of letters, being educated at the Hotchkiss School in
2:49.7	Connecticut in his early years. Later, he studied
2:53.1	English at Yale, and then law at Harvard Law School, where he graduated top of his class. During his life,
3:00.6	he would work as a lawyer, Fortune Magazine editor, librarian of Congress, assistant secretary
3:06.8	of state for cultural affairs, and would end his
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 16 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mike Cunha, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mike Cunha and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.