Veteran’s Day is just days away.
Our veterans have fought and died in
many wars. Some have been necessary, some not, but vets have served their
country when others never would. These men, not athletes, not rock stars, are
my heroes. I hope my story below shows why I feel the way I do. I have gathered
just a few examples of why I think our veterans deserve our thanks and
certainly our respect. There are so many more that are not listed here.
Pearl Harbor where 2,500 sailors died
Crippling the navy on which the nation
relied
18 ships went down below
How those sailors suffered, no one could
know
It’s time to remember the boys at Bastogne
Shivering
in the snow, all alone
Reinforcements were far away
The 101st airborne wondered
if they’d see another day
Iwo Jima where the black sands turned
red
And the 5th marines buried
their dead
Five weeks of fighting under a sulfurous
dome
7,000 marines never went home
Okinawa with kamikaze attacks, wave
after wave
Navy ships sinking with no crewmen to
save
Army and marines fighting ashore
12,000 went home never more
Korea with its miserable cold
Non-stop fighting and freezing I’m told
Even the navy at sea, scraping ice and
snow
From frozen flight decks to icy seas
below
The 26th marines at Khe Sanh
on a hilltop bare
Out miles and miles from anywhere
Ammo and food dropped by air, was the
only way
Dropped by planes that quickly flew away
Leaving 5,000 marines under fire night
and day
By 20,000 troops of the NVA
Fallujah, where army and marines went
house to house kicking in doors
In the land where the enemy’s AK-47 assault
rifle roars
They faced hazardous duty night after
night
Always anticipating the next firefight
All four armed forces are serving in
Afghanistan
Fighting in a barren, pitiful land
Where land mines and ambush go hand in
hand
Where many a hero has made his last
stand
All mentioned here deserve our respect for
what they have done
For all the battles they have fought and
won
For my (long ago) navy service I am proud
Those I served with stood out from the crowd
Just one more thank you, I need to say
Our nephew Patrick served with the 10th mountain division
In both Afghanistan and in Iraq
And we are happy to have our hero back
