Memorial day

vmaxcruzer · May 30, 2010

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's so easy to forget them,

For it is so many times

That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,

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 simple headline

In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Pass On The Patriotism!

YOU can make a difference

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,wrote a blank check made payable 'To My Country' for an amount "up to and including my life."

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Rollie · May 30, 2010

Hoo rah

nd4topspd · May 31, 2010

my hat is off to all that have put themselves on the line for our freedom
Thank you

Slacker · May 31, 2010

Says it all. I remember an email going around that stated how huge Wacko Jacko's passing was. On that same day, a retired Army Airborne Col had died. He had a stack of medals, many coming out of WW II. I, of course, never heard of him. I cannot remember his name today. I have had the shear blessings of meeting many a WW II vets, mostly while working the oil fields. I grew up in it. Both my two fathers of my life had seen some rough war times. I'm thankful for them all. Doubt if I could stand to watch Whistle Britches place the reef at the tomb tomorrow. Some many a great forefathers did so much for us, and we allow incompetents to pizz it all away. That suck hole best be states born.

Three years ago, while still in uniform, driving home, I came upon a pick up, smoking, stalled in the center of a 4 lane hiway, right over a hump. Two cars swerved to miss the pick up. I went around slowly on the left side and seen an elderly man, smoke in his mouth, baseball hat on, trying to start his engine. I pulled off to the right and ran back. I waved off a few cars, ran to the cab and had him put the tranny in neutral and gave brief instructions. I had to holler twice for him to release the brake. We finally started rolling down hill and off to the right. I then started to panic when we were rolling up on my Firebird and he wasn't stopping. As I was hollering, I ran up to his door, opened it, hopped on the floor, started to put my right foot towards the brake peddle, when he stomps on the brakes. The door flung open with me hanging on to it. We had 6 feet twixt our vehicles.
After, I got him off to the ditch side of the road and popped the hood. I could tell the engine ran out of coolant and roasted it. Oil was everywhere. During this time, I had to keep him out of the fast lane. He was intent on strolling out there. Seeing me in uniform, in passing, he said he was a retired Command Sergeant Major. Not taking him seriously, I asked where he was from, or going. He couldn't tell me. He knew his name was Mac and that was about it. Nice thing was, he remembered his phone number. I dialed it up to get a nice, sweet sounding lady on the phone. When I asked if she knew a fellow named Mac, she starting pumping me with questions. I was talking to this man's wife. Turned out, a couple hours before, Mac took the truck to head to the bank. Well, the poor man has that dreaded forgetfulness disease. He lived about 70-80 miles away from me, in Lenexa, Ks. A round about way to the bank. I told the lady I'd take him home and wait for her and their relation to show up.
At the house, I got the man a Pepsi and we sat down. He chugged down the Pepsi, literally. He again stated he was a retired CSM. I smiled and told him that was cool. He then pulled out a card and showed it to me. Then it hit me. This guy had a retired army card with CSM E-9 right on it. He started to light up a smoke and I mentioned we didn't smoke in the house because of the kids. He went out and lit up. When this guy smoked, he smoked. He would continually puff the the butt till it was gone, then use his shaky hand to light up another. Every time he lit up, he hot boxed the thing.
When he came back in, I asked him to tell some war stories. Many times, including my fathers, I would get little info from WW II combat vets. Mac spilled his guts, many times over on the same scenarios. He told me of stepping on Omaha Beach 6 hrs after it started. While he and his buddy, up to that point, were laying on the sand, a sniper tagged his friend through the helmet, in the forehead. He lost his best friend since basic. Mac couldn't understand why it wasn't him who bought it. He also mentioned how red the sea shore was that day and how his platoon took out 11 tanks a couple days later. He spoke of other engagements well after D Day. I believe he didn't mind speaking to me about these battles because he'd forget that he told me about them as soon as the words came out of his mouth.
When the tribe showed up to get him about 3 hours later, Mac's wife was super appreciative. I told her that it was nothing but a pleasure to have him in my home. I was proud to of met him. The family sent me a 100 dollar bill later on. I felt good being able to do a little something for this man.

vmaxcruzer · May 31, 2010

Good for you! Thats what its all about right there.

unk:

06VMAXIMUS · May 31, 2010

God Bless those who served. I never did, but my dad flew a B-26 in WWII over Germany. He was and is one hell of a pilot, and has some great and sad stories. I Just called him and told him how much his service meant to me and our country. Too bad these bozo's in Washington are fuking up everything that so many brave men and women laid down their lives for.