In Memoriam…

RIP Mr. Henry… RIP…

                          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, 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…
 
Mr. Henry was 94, a sailor not a soldier, a “Destroyerman” in WWII in the South Pacific.

Comments

In Memoriam… — 8 Comments

  1. Thanks. It made me think of my father, who served on a destroyer in Korea.

    Politicians wring their hands and gnash their teeth, while explaining how they need more money, yet our soldiers pass on with their stories of sailing through a typhoon forever lost by time.

    God bless them all. They honor us with their service and too many forget their daily wandering through a polite society is only because of the sacrifices of our soldiers.