A Poem Worth Reading

[des1954]

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simply headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Wow Deb, that is awesome.
So true , so powerful, and so emotional.
When we are young we don't pay enough attention to our elders,,and because of that we loose a lot of knowlege and history of what wonderful people have given for us and I'm not talk'n politicians.
Thank you for posting this.

 

[graciejane]

Thank you for posting this.

 

[DaveInTN]

That is awesome Deb! Thank you for posting it.

I was a kid during the latter stages of Vietnam. I grew up with the media and a lot of politicians telling us that American soldiers were dishonerable, were commiting crimes against innocent civilians, and didn't deserve our respect.

Thank God the majority of Americans know better! Thank God this country has been blessed with a military over its history that has fought for our freedoms, and have sacrificed all so that we can raise our families in what has always been the greatest nation on Earth...one that in my opinion has been endowed by God with these great men and women for a purpose.

Despite the agendas of many in office and in the media, our military remains a great strength in this country, and between that and the greatness of most ordinary Americans, I remain optimistic that this nation still has a bright future.

 

[RvUsa]

 

[homebrew2]

 

[Tnbob]

Thank you

 

[We4mickey]

Very nice Deb, thank you!

 

[seabee]

what a great poem...Thank you Deb.

 

[clkelley]

Awesome Deb!

 

[Just Beachy]

Thank you for posting this Deb. A great reminder of how thankful we should be to our soldiers, especially since Memorial Day will be here very soon.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Deb-

I've got to tell you, your timing is perfect.

My Father In Law, Mrs. TCD's dad, died yesterday afternoon at age 86.

Like many men of his generation, he was a World War II veteran.

Just yesterday evening, we were looking at his medals and other memorabilia he saved from the war.

He was plucked out of college and served as a very young officer in what was then called the Army Air Force. He was a navigator on B29 bombers, and was assigned to the 6th Bomb Group, and stationed on Tinian Island. From there, he and his crew flew bombing missions over mainland Japan. And, for a lot of his fellow soldiers, these unfortunately were not always round trips.

This man was a hero.

But, he came home from the war, finished college, got married, raised his family, paid his bills, and just lived a normal life.

It was like pulling teeth getting him to talk about his War service.

I have noticed that to be the case with a lot of men from his generation.

This truly was our greatest generation.

And, we lost another great man yesterday.

I really wish now that I spent more time pulling his stories out of him. We were looking at his medals last night, and even my mother in law really couldn't tell us much about them. When my father in law would tell his "war stories," he always was humble and said that he was just doing his job. But, thank God that he and his fellow soldiers were willing to just do their jobs.

My dad is about ten years younger. He is a Vietnam Veteran. He also never wants to talk about his military service, but I am going to do my damndest to get him to talk.

So, thanks Deb. I'll bet you had no idea when you posted that poem that it would have such a direct and personal impact. But it really did on me.

TCD

 

[DaveInTN]

TCD - my condolences to your wife, daughters and the entire family. We lose more of the Greatest Generation with every day, and those stories are unfortunately going with them. Thank God for his service and the service of the millions of others that have protected our country.

 

[liv luvs disney]

What truth Deb! Thanks for sharing.

 

[liv luvs disney]

So sorry for your family's loss TCD.

 

[2goofycampers]

Deb


TCD sympathies to everyone that love your FIL.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

Awesome Deb!

Sorry for your loss TCD.

 

[RvUsa]

So sorry for your families loss. The world is a better place because of your FIL and all the men and women who have served our country.

 

[Just Beachy]

TCD, so sorry about your FIL. I'm sure he was a wonderful man who will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I agree, he was definitely from the Greatest Generation.

 

[des1954]

TCD- I'm so sorry to hear of your family's loss.

My father served in the Army-Air Corp in WWII and other than him kidding about the fun he had with his army buddies in N. Africa, he never spoke about his war experiences. I have his army picture on my nightstand and even though he left us at a very early age (61 - and I was 26), he is the one man who has had the most profound effect on my life.

I recently did an Ancestry.com on the paternal side of my family and actually traced relatives back to the early 1600's in Maine. (Kudos to the great State of Maine for computerizing their public records.) Every single war that was fought since the Revolutionary War, had a member of my father's family serving in the military. That trend ended with the Viet Nam war & my brother. His son and the son of our other brother are too young to have served in the Gulf War and now too old to serve in Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan. It makes me proud that in some small way my forefathers were committed to fight for the freedom we are now privileged to bask in.