| Show A memorial forest in north carolina honors the soldier poet who wrote trees by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HAS been reprinted in j IT newspapers and other publications hundreds of times it has been set to music and youve probably heard it sung as a solo or played on some musical instrument hundreds yes thousands of times and as the time for the celebration of arbor day approaches pro aches you will be hearing it again and again for of all the poems ever written on this subject it I 1 is s probably the best known and best loved it is joyce dilmers Kil mers trees if joyce kilmer had never done anything else but write that one poem Ms his tame fame would be secure but because lie he did write it he has recently been honored with a memorial that is unique down in graham county north tar carolina olina in the heart oi of the nan cahala ta hala national forest there is a tract of acres of one of bf the most beautiful remnants of our nations virgin forests within its confines are magnificent examples of more than species of trees native to that region since last summer visitors to that tract have found there a plaque which reads JOYCE KILMER MEMORIAL FOREST dedicated july 30 1936 joyce kilmer infantry rainbow division soldier and poet author of trees 11 was born in new brunswick N J december 1886 killed in action in france july 39 30 1918 this memorial was initiated by bozeman Boze iuan bulger post veterans of foreign wars and was selected by the united states forest service twenty years ago joyce kilmer kii was a young writer on the sunday staff of the new york times he had attended rutgers college and columbia university and had met and fallen in love with aline murray of ot norfolk Y va who shared his interest in poetry they were married in june 1908 and in that year he became instructor in latin in the morristown oN N J high school the next year he became editorial assistant on the standard dictionary where he served for three years during this time kilmer won considerable recognition as a poet and was wasla a regular contributor to the literary digest book news monthly and other literary periodicals his first book of poems poems the summer of love appeared in 1911 and the next year he became literary editor of the churchman for some time he had been a contributor of book reviews to the new york times and in 1913 he joined the staff of that newspaper and began writing news stories interviews and feature articles an heroic reporter indicative of the heroic stuff in him was an incident during this period of his career he h had I 1 d tried to board a train to new york and was thrown off and seriously hurt in the hospital the doctor told him that he must be put under an anesthetic so that his broken bones might be set but I 1 have a sunday story to write he said ive got it all in my head and the editor edIto needs reds it wait until I 1 do it so he sent for his secretary to come out from new york and dictated the story before he was wheeled in to the operating room although highly praised by his fellow newspaper workers for his grit kilmer made light of both the accident and the incident during his career as a reporter ind and feature writer kilmer continued his poetic work including his now famous trees which h was written for ills his friend mrs henry mills alden wife of the venerable editor of harpers magazine it was published in book form under the title of trees and other poems in 1915 other poems were dedicated to his friend and boss alden march sunday editor of the times Ont on that fiat april day in 1917 when the news of the sink sinking g of the lusitania Lusitani awas was flashed across the atlantic march called kilmer to him and said that he want ed a poem to be used is as a page feature in the sunday magazine at first kilmer demurred saying that he could not write anything good enough for such a subject nor for such prominence but march insisted and the OXVILLE Q r joef ass 1 I M f ar T M c N L N fe G GA G OA A DALTON J CARTE cartersville CARTERS AVILLE VILLE LOCATION of JOYCE KILMER ME MEMORIAL MORtAL FOREST established IN ATLANTA NANTAHALA NATI NATIONAL FOREST refo wl ax aaa U anta 6 NORTH CAROLINA next morning kilmer apologetically laid on an his desk the manuscript of the poem the white ships and the red bed it was a brilliantly biffi imaginative agi native p poem 0 e rn which was destined to be heard around the world and to stir the feelings of men in every land in it kilmer envisioned the wreck of the Lusita lusitania rila red from the horror of the deed going down to the bottom of the ocean there to tb join the ghosts of those which had been sunk by storm shipwreck and iceberg but klimer kilmer did not limit ills his indignation against those responsible for sinking the lusitania to writing poems on april 23 1917 just 17 days after the united states enter edithe edthe world war he left the times and enlisted as a private in the seventh regiment of the new york national guard A front line fighter shortly before the regiment left for spartanburg S C kilmer was transferred to the in fantry at camp mills long island and he was senior regimental statistician when his outfit sailed for france in october 1917 etwas a job which would keep him close to regimental headquarters what the army called a soft berth it was exactly for that tha treason reason that kilmer was diaga dissatisfied he wanted to be in the front lines inhere there wis was action and his insistence led to his transfer to the reg regimental mental Int intelligence ellige nce staff As sergeant on the intelligence staff he displayed the same fidelity and courage that he ha had shown as a newspaper newspaperman man on july 30 1918 that fidelity and courage took him into the scarred and shattered timber which they still call the wood of the burned bridge his outfit was trying to locate enemy machine gun nests nesti not more than 30 feet away from kilmer was maj william J wild bill donovan who later commanded the came me move move forward donovan called to kumer kilmer there was was no response donovan looked loser closer c and saw kilmer huddled on the ground A snipers bullet had stilled forever the voice of the min man who had sung sting of trees they buried joyce kilmer among the war blasted trees of bois colas the kind of trees which were far fai different from tho those he had in mind when he wrote the poem that has been his memorial for nearly two decades but now he has another memorial which will literally and figuratively keep his memory green it is the memorial forest in north carolina which was dedicated lost last summer with ceremonies M i at t which the s speakers p eakers included joseph C kircher south ern regional forester foreste of the united states forest service paul A williams chairman of the kilmer kamer memorial committee charles mcdonald of the new york times rev john 13 kelly chaplain and john mccloy U S N commander of the 11 bozeman ozeman bulger post of the vet erans of foreign wars and E A sherman assistant chief of the united states forest service who delivered deliver bd the dedication address in it he said f 61 the forest service rejoices at this opportunity to operate cooperate co with the veterans of foreign wars in paying tribute to the memory of joyce kilmer we may justly claim him as belonging to the veterans and foresters alike on the field of combat he made the supreme sacrifice as a patriot cr trees he has abe bequeathed thed to humanity one of 0 its rarest gems of human expression it seems destined to rank with Long fellows apostrophe to the forest pr primeval 1 neval the murmuring pines and the hem locks As his tree lifts her leafy arms to pray tile the poem moves in perfect cadence inspired by the same reverent spirit as bry ants stately the groves were gods first temples where in the darkling wood amidst the cool ind and silence mari man first knelt down and offered to the mightiest solemn thanks and supplication it is fitting that a monument to joyce kilmer should take this Wordsworth lan form of A broth ergood of venerable trees such as distinguishes the area which we dedicate today this manu monument is not needed to perpetuate the memory of joyce kilmer through his poem his name has become immortal and his memory shall abide on earth as long as the english language is a living speech itis it is established primarily to show to all the world our nations appreciation of one whose memory has hag become a priceless heritage of its people A sylvan cathedral such appreciation is best expressed press id in the form which hei he living loved most ino no useless shaft of insentient stone no shrine of personal glorification instead we have this vast sylvan cathedral with the incomparable beauty of its changing lights an and ld shadows in au all theli their varying moods surely tt it would be his wish that it might se serve the citizenship iz lz of the nation for which he died therefore that this allis wish I 1 though unexpressed may be fulfilled and to the end that this mon ament may serve our nation best the forest service of the department part ment of agriculture herewith reserves it as a primitive area dedicates it to the spirit of joyce kilmer and to the use of the people of the united states far their enjoyment instruction and inspiration until time shall be no more here in these solemn shades generation after generation of our people imbued with reverent love for unspoiled natures charm shall come to sacred ground exempt from common use and with shakespeare of old find tongues in fri trees books in running brooks sermons in stones and good in everything 1 I 1 have learned with much I 1 interest of plans for the dedication of the joyce kilmer memorial forest wrote president nt roosevelt in a letter which was reid read at the dedication it is particularly fitting that a poet who will always be remembered fo for r the tribute he embodied in trees should find this living monument thus thud his beloved memory is forever honored and one of na natures turea masterpieces is set aside to td be Ore preserved served tor for the enjoyment qi of generations yet unborn 0 western newspaper paper union |
