"Just a Common Soldier", also known as "A Soldier Died Today", is a poem written in 1987. Written and published in 1987 by Canadian veteran and columnist A. Lawrence Vaincourt, it now appears in a number of anthologies and newspapers, particularly around

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

. The Australian Legion included it in their video tribute, Victory in the Pacific, and it was a central part of the 2009 Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. In 2008 it was carved into marble for an American veterans' memorial. Set to music by the author's son, composer

Randy Vancourt Randy Vancourt is a Canadian composer and entertainer. A Juno Award nominated composer, he has written music for television series such as Man Alive, Hello Mrs. Cherrywinkle, Carmen SanDiego and Dudley the Dragon. He is also a writer of stage ...

, it has been released several times as a recording, most recently on November 1, 2013 by American singer

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

References

{{Reflist Canadian poems 1987 poems