Found in the pocket of a fallen Marine:
7 June 1969
Quang Tri Province
Republic of South Vietnam
~*~*~
" KILLED IN ACTION "
Take a man and put him alone,
put him twelve thousand miles from home....
Empty his heart of all but blood,
make him live in sweat and mud....
This is the life I have to live,
this soul to the Devil I give....
You have your parties and drink your beer,
while young men are dying over here....
Paint your signs on the White House lawn,
"Let's all get out of Vietnam"....
Use your signs and have your fun,
then you refuse to use a gun....
There is nothing else for you to do,
then I'm supposed to die for you....
There is one thing that you should know,
and that's where I think you should go....
I'm already here and it's too late,
I've traded all my love for hate....
I'll hate you till the day I die,
you made me hear my buddy cry....
I saw his leg and blood shed,
then I heard them say
"this ones dead"
It was a large price for him to pay,
to let YOU live another day....
He had the guts to fight and die,
to keep the freedom YOU live by....
By his dying your life he buys,
but who gives a damn if a Marine dies...
~*~*~
~*~*~
~ In Your Honor ~
Unselfishly, you left your
fathers and your mothers,
You left behind your
sisters and your brothers.
Leaving your beloved
children and wives,
You put on hold,
your dreams—your lives.
On foreign soil,
you found yourself planted.
To fight for those whose
freedom you granted.
Without your sacrifice,
their cause would be lost.
But you carried onward,
no matter the cost.
Many horrors you had
endured and seen.
Many faces had
haunted your dreams.
You cheered as your
enemies littered the ground;
You cried as your
brothers fell all around.
When it was over,
you all came back home,
Some were left with
memories to face all alone;
Some found themselves
in the company of friends.
As their crosses cast
shadows across the land.
Those who survived
were forever scarred.
Emotionally, physically,
permanently marred.
Those who did not
now sleep eternally.
'Neath the ground they had
given their lives to keep free.
With a hand upon
my heart, I feel.
The pride and respect;
my reverence is revealed.
In the tears that now stream
down my upturned face.
As our flag waves above you,
in her glory and grace.
Freedom was the gift
that you unselfishly gave.
Pain and death was the
price that you ultimately paid.
Every day,
I give my utmost admiration;
To those who had fought
to defend our nation.
~ Karla W. Daigle 5/30/98 ~
~*~*~
- A man has not lived,until he has almost died
- For those who have fought,
Life has a flavor
- the protected will never know.
- Signed, Vietnam Veteran
- (The above was found written in pencil on the metal seat
- back of a bus in northern
Thailand many, many years ago.)
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