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TomW

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Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
1,436
Location
Allen, Texas
I saved this till today. We need to remember EVERY DAY.

Tom

~ Author unknown ~

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 whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old 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,
Someone 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, though 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 simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
 
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Thank you Tom. Recently I have had the honor to be working amongst some of the bravest and best young men and women in the world, the 101st Airborne. We are building a new Chapel there for them. I had occasion to be near the Exchange when an elderly lady dropped her keys going into one of the stores. As she bent over to retrieve them, she started to fall over as some of us older people tend to do. Before I could even start to head her way, she was swarmed by a host of our finest making sure she was alright. They came running from the parking lot and inside the store, both men and women, helping her up and making sure she was in no way harmed. I dread to think what might have happened had she fallen in one of the cities that surround the area.

One other thing that has struck me in my visit there, the only graffiti I have found on a restroom wall has been in those frequented by the civilians on post. The rooms where military only use them are as pristine as the day they were built.

Our world is full of heroes. Let us honor all those in uniform each day. When we pass a soldier on the street, at least smile and show we care as we look him / her in the eye. My $0.02 for today.

I get to observe them work in hot sun and cold rain with no care for what the weather does. I do not work in the rain, but they get no rain outs.
Charles
 
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