[bp936]

A SOLDIER DIED TODAY

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 had fought in,
And the deeds that he had done.
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, everyone.

And 'tho sometimes, to his neighbors,
his tales became a joke.
All his buddies listened,
For they knew whereof 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,
Quietly going on his way.
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a soldier died today.

When the 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 sometimes disproportionate,
To the service he gives.

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

It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so long ago,
That our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's,
Went to battle, but we know.

It was 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,
Who has sworn to defend,
His home, his kin and Country,
And 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,
Then 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 simple headline,
In the paper that might say,
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Author Unknown

[franca]

[poochee]

May they always be remembered.

[SIR****TMG]

Veterans Day We Remember.................

[katonca]

Thank you for your service.

[Blackmirror]

[franca]

GreatWar 1914-1918
In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

[telecom69]

For The Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon .....

[Drabdr]

To all Armed Forces, past present and future... if it means anything: thank you.

[telecom69]

Originally Posted by Drabdr

To all Armed Forces, past present and future... if it means anything: thank you.

It means a lot,because it shows that you care and recognise their efforts