# Tribute Poems



## military granny (15 May 2006)

THE YOUNG MAN STANDS AND TAKES AN OATH
BEFORE HIS GOD AND COUNTRY BOTH

SWEARS AN ALLEGIANCE TO HIS FLAG
THEN GOES ON HOME TO PACK A BAG

THEY SHIP HIM EAST SO HE CAN TRAIN
TO USE HIS MUSCLES, BRAWN AND BRAIN

HE IS THERE FOR WEEKS ON END
MET SOME BUDDIES AND A FEW BEST FRIENDS

A YEAR AGO, IN HER EYES, HE WAS STILL A CHILD
FAST CARS, LOUD MUSIC AND FRIENDS, HE WAS A LITTLE WILD

HE COMES HOME CHANGED FROM BOY TO MAN
GUESS EVERYONE KNOWS IT WASN’T A FLASH IN THE PAN

THERE IS CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
THE CONGO, IRAQ AND ISRAEL ARE NOT THE LEAST

HE HAS BEEN TRAINED BY ONLY THE BEST
WITH LITTLE TIME OFF AND VERY LITTLE REST

WE ALL KNOW HE WILL GET THOSE ORDERS
HIS BATTALION SOON LIVING IN CLOSE QUARTERS

NO MORE BRICK BUILDINGS TO LIVE IN 
BUT TENTS AND COTS AND FOOD IN TINS

NO MORE SNOW AND MUD TO MARCH THROUGH
BUT THE SKY’S THE SAME, MAYBE DARKER BLUE

WHAT HE NOW CALLS A BLANK EXERCISE
WILL BECOME A LIFE WHERE AMMO FLIES

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN BOYS, A MOTHER WRITES
AND PRAYS THEY COME HOME SAFE, EVERY NIGHT

WE ALL KNOW THE PRAYERS, AND IN GOD WE TRUST
BUT DO OUR JOB, AS THE ARMY, WE MUST

THEY STICK TOGETHER LIKE A FAMILY OF BROTHERS
ALL OF THEM OUR SONS AND US THEIR MOTHERS

LETTERS FROM HOME THEY MEAN SO MUCH
E-MAIL OR HAND WRITTEN, IT’S THE HEARTS THEY TOUCH

FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS ARE BOYS WILL BE GONE
TIME WILL GO SLOW AND IT WILL SEEM SO LONG

HE WILL COME HOME, CHANGED ONCE MORE
SOME THINGS HE WILL SEE, MAY LEAVE HIM HEART SORE

BUT WE WILL BE HERE, WE ARE HIS FAMILY YOU SEE
AND HE WAS THERE, TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY FREE

SO WHILE YOU GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE SO CARE FREE
REMEMBER WITHOUT OUR SONS DRESSED IN GREEN, IT JUST WOULDN’T BE


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## Booked_Spice (15 May 2006)

Miltary Granny,

Thought is an awesome poem. Thank you very much for sharing


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## camochick (15 May 2006)

Great poem military granny. >


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## military granny (15 May 2006)

Thanks Ladies
It was wriiten shortly after we got the news my son was leaving.


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## Ashes (18 May 2006)

thank you for the lovely poem. I enjoyed it


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## Kid_Recruit (3 Jul 2006)

This is just a poem I wrote for the fallen infantry, I'm not sure if anyone will like it but it's worth a shot, enjoy 

As the blood spills
The tides of war fill the tunnel of life
The ones to search for the light
To fight the darkness
We hide our pain
As our insides fill with rage
The bodies line row on row
On sand, grass, ice and snow
Our fallen comrades haunt us as they Rome as ghosts
We will always remember as the guns go off
The rifles fire
The shells and casings hit the floor
Open caskets are what remain of this quarrel
The bodies’ burn
The families’ urn
The love lost and hate gained
The screams are heard through the skies
Soldiers flock from all around
The lowest lows 
The highest highs
Angels of death are we
The few among the many
To serve and protect 
To kill with respect
To win the fight 
To save those lost in the dark of night
To herd the sheep that stray 
And unite humanity
For one better day …


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## Old Guy (3 Aug 2006)

When 'the last full measure of devotion' is given, there are always those who wait in vain.

*By the Pasture Gate*

Mike was nine and I was seven 
when she came to share our lives.
A romping pup with huge brown eyes,
she soon answered to her name -- Sunny.

The school bus dropped us every day
at Mr. Gleason's place.
We walked across his land and ours
instead of taking the long way around.
Sunny would meet us at the pasture gate.

After Mike went to college and then the Army,
she still met me, rain or shine.
But she always hesitated at the gate,
looking for Mike.

Sunny began to show signs of age in her tenth year.
Only Mike's visits could bring back the young dog.
For a long time after I went to college
she kept going to the gate, to wait and wait,
then walk slowly home.

Last week we got word from Iraq.
Mike will never see twenty-four.
Sunny stopped eating the day of his funeral.

Now I sit in the dark, rocking the old dog.
I offer water in my cupped hand and she drinks,
just to be polite.
She lies quiet in my lap, but not sleeping.

It will be tonight, I know, and hold her close.
She awaits the sound of his voice --
his call from the pasture gate.



©  JR Hume, 2004 

**********************

*Memories of a Soldier*

On cold winter mornings I remember --
that walk out to the barn
and me on the way back to the house
balancing a puppy in a box.

Christmas and a pup for my brother.

Later, much later,
I met a tall soldier on our front porch.
He twisted his hat in meaty hands,
"I thought you might want to know how it was.
We figured I ought to stop by --
and, anyway, I was his friend."

There were pictures.
His friend and I handed them back and forth.
I wrote what he told me
on the blank backs.

"This here was Kuwait,
before we went north . . .
"Outside Baghdad,
at the mass graves . . .

"And this is Fallujah . . .

He dropped the picture, as if burned.
It reminded him of terror, noise,
radio calls, machine guns,
bombs -- death.

And this is Fallujah.

We cry and hold each other.
I remember . . .

A Christmas puppy in a box.



©  JR Hume, 2004

********************

*Daniel's Birthday*

Shadow woke me.
He jumped on my bed and lay there, shivering,
like he does when the neighbors shoot fireworks.
He's really my brother's dog, not mine,
but he took to sleeping on my bed after Daniel went away.

I got worried when Shadow whined.
He ain't that type.
We went downstairs.
I figured a drink of water might do us both good.

Mom was at the kitchen table.
Shadow went straight to her and laid his head in her lap.
"He woke me up," I said. "Shakin' like that and even whined,
but only once or twice."

That was when I saw she was crying.
"It's Daniel.  Something has happened to him."
She went to the big windows and stared out,
Shadow kept right by her side.

"Daniel's okay," I promised.
"Today's his birthday -- he has to be okay."

Shadow and Mom walked me to the bus that morning.
She hugged me right in front of all the other kids.
Just before lunch the principal came to my room
and said he had to take me home.
I felt all cold and shivery, like Shadow.

Two Army guys met me on the porch.
I like soldiers in their green uniforms,
but I didn't want them there on Daniel's birthday.

Mom was in the kitchen with Dad.
That was the first time I ever saw my father cry.



© JR Hume, 2004

********************

*Lost Hero*

My brother left for Vietnam the summer I turned ten.
Teddy bear and I were asleep
when he died in a landing zone
on the far side of the moon.

A haze obscures his face – his voice I can’t recall.
I remember my own tears and his shining silver wings.

I asked him not to go - ordered it, in fact.
He always obeyed my shrill commands,
except for just that once.

Sometimes I dream . . .

My arms clasp his neck.
Muscles move in his shoulders.
Calloused hands hold my arms.
I cannot fall.

Piggyback rides were his specialty.



©  JR Hume, 2002
	revised, 2006

******************

God bless the fallen and their families.   

Jim


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## Fishbone Jones (3 Aug 2006)

Thanks Jim, it's very touching and fitting, as always.


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## therev (3 Aug 2006)

I wasn't sure where to post this, only know that the spirit is leading me to do so.  If it needs to be elsewhere please move it.  
*
RIP*

Rest in peace they say
offering me their final salute
as my body passes them
in the dust and oppressive heat
of this foreign soil.

I journey home
but in spirit, I linger here
for I do not rest - 
there is no peace.

Alongside my commrades I remain faithful
the still presence, a shadow in their minds.
They pray for me and mine,
and remember me with fondness
yet not too effusively
fearing my fate will be theirs.

Rest in peace they say.
Tonight my family will sleep
with the uneasy reality of grief.
Trying to understand the whys and who is to blame.

Rest in peace they say...
Rest in peace.
May I find peace in my eternal rest.

26 july 2006 written by Reverend Lara upon hearing the news of Mjr. Hess von Kruedener's death at UN observation post


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## Springroll (3 Aug 2006)

It's a beautiful poem. 

Thank you for posting it.


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## military granny (3 Aug 2006)

I thought of you today,
with everything the news did say.
I cant help but worry for you,
but that’s just what we at home do.
I cry for families and what they lost,
trying to bring peace, at a huge cost.
We paced, shook , worried and cried,
it happens every time a soldier has died.
What do we say to those left behind,
hug them and hold them and just be kind.
What do we tell our soldiers over there,
we wish this wasn't’t their cross to bare.
A city is in mourning, the sky’s are grey,
too many names announced today.
We will stand there in your place,
as they talk of God and grace.
We will bow our heads and pray,
and add your name to the words they say.
Stay safe my dear, and please take care,
your one in a million and very rare.
We’ll welcome you home with a joyful tear,
but until then, we will live in fear.
We want no more days like today,
no more losses to explain away.
Safe at home you will soon be,
from the worry and fear we will be free.

Military Granny
August 3,2006


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## hockeygirl (4 Aug 2006)

Very nice poem granny.


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## Booked_Spice (4 Aug 2006)

Very nice. MG, Very nice.

Thank you


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## Black Watch (4 Aug 2006)

nice and moving


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## Canadian.Trucker (4 Aug 2006)

Very heartfelt.  I'm sure you just summed up how a lot of mother's, wives and loved ones are feeling right now.  Thank you for that.


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## military granny (4 Aug 2006)

Thanks Guys and Gals. Now that its "down on paper" I cant read it, it makes me cry.  :'(

To all the men and women serving our great nation, your families love you and miss you.


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## 17thRecceSgt (4 Aug 2006)

+10 MG.  +10

MRM


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## 17thRecceSgt (4 Aug 2006)

Poem for our Hero's

~Always~ 

The news, so sad, so tragic...
today was in my face.
I tried to think, and yes, I prayed
"They will rest safe in His place"...

Our hero's, yes they are in fact
the best of all mankind
have given of themselves in ways
a gift ALWAYS left behind.

For others, they have gone now,
to rest peacefully for all of time,
their gift to them, forever lasts
never forgotten nor "left behind".

Those stars that brightly twinkle in the sky,
that never fade nor wain,
is our brave soldiers heart, and souls
who have gone...When God called their name

RIP our Canadian Heros.


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## snowy (4 Aug 2006)

That was a wonderful poem Military Granny


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## Pea (4 Aug 2006)

Very beautiful Military Granny. Thank you for sharing. Definitely tugged on the heart strings.


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## camochick (4 Aug 2006)

Military Granny, that was beautiful. Thank you for that!


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## RainbowPwincess (14 Aug 2006)

beautiful poem. am i right in thinking it was published in last weeks Western Sentinel? hats off to you MG


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## military granny (14 Aug 2006)

Yes Rainbow
They contacted me to see if it was ok.


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## HitorMRS. (14 Aug 2006)

That was beautiful military granny.  Thank you for sharing it.


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## AKA Sam (14 Aug 2006)

MG, thank you!  That's lovely.


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## Hot Lips (14 Aug 2006)

Beautiful MG...thank you for that   

HL


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## military granny (14 Aug 2006)

Thank you everyone.It still amazes me that I could take what my heart was feeling and put it on paper. I don't ever want to have a day like that again, so to the men and women serving over in the sand box..... Please take care of each other. It breaks my heart each time I hear that we lose another Canadian.


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## missing1 (14 Sep 2006)

Great poem granny, I wish the last eight lines could be said about my youg lad, but my prayers are with the ones that will be able to "come home"

Dave   :'(


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## GUNS (18 Sep 2006)

As I sit as a Father,
as proud as I can be.

For I have a son in the army,
who will be standing up for me.

I know he will face great danger,
in land that's far away.

His heart will be for his homeland,
but his deeds will be  over there.

He wants to make a difference,
for people that never had much luck.

They deserve a better lifestyle,
that he has enjoyed so much.

As I sit here as a Father,
as proud as I can be.

For I have a son in the army,
who will be standing up for me.

My son is making an effort,
to help these people out.

So why are so many Canadians,
full of questions and doubt.

He spoke to me about his desire,
to give a helping hand.

I told him not to worry,
for I truly understand.

There are those among us,
that will never have a life.

Do what your heart is telling you,
because you always do what's right.

For you are a Canadian Soldier,
who is always there to help.

You will be making a difference,
 though people don't understand.

That you are a Canadian Soldier,
its time to make a stand.

God Bless you son, the soldier,
now go and do what's right.

For I will be sitting here as a Father,
as proud as I can be.

For I have a son in the army,
who will be standing up for me.


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## muffin (18 Sep 2006)

Very nice GUNS - I am sure your son appreciates the support and understanding.


muffin


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## GAP (18 Sep 2006)

As a father who just had a son come back and one just going over...thanks

Gord


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## proudnurse (20 Sep 2006)

I wrote this a while ago and I wanted to share it with everyone before I headed to sleep. Hope that you all enjoy it and feel free to pass it on to anyone if you like it. 

Yellow Ribbons 

~Somewhere in the Valley, there's a house where dreams remain, and wait for you to return into my arms again. Past the stained glass windows, and the porch swing where we dreamed there is a yellow ribbon, I tied around a tree. 

~It's stood strong through every rainstorm, and the raindrops have fallen like my tears. And the sunshine dries the raindrops from the ribbon, and our memories dry my tears. 

~Somehow the trees stand, like soldiers themselves. Lining the streets of our town. With sacred yellow ribbons, wrapped around in thier own embrace. 

~Some people will stare in wonder, others will just drive by. Others will shed a tear, and remember those who have died. 

~The ribbons give us hope, and a sence of strength inside. And the trees will give thier own honor, as thier branches reach into the sky. 

~So as I sit here praying, and taking life's tasks day by day, your ribbon will remain until you're in my arms again. 

~Rebecca


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## 17thRecceSgt (26 Sep 2006)

Guns,

Great one.  Your work?



MRM


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## GUNS (26 Sep 2006)

From the heart


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## Mike Baker (26 Sep 2006)

wow. all I can say is wow.


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## 211RadOp (26 Sep 2006)

Very well done Guns. With your permission, I would like to share this with some friends on another board.


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## GUNS (26 Sep 2006)

Feel free to use it.

Its for all those who have sons or daughters or relatives with the military.


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## gaspasser (26 Sep 2006)

:crybaby:
can I send that to my mom? It's beautiful, man.


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## BernDawg (26 Sep 2006)

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a lump in their throat after reading this.  Well done.


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## pinkbug (29 Sep 2006)

This is a true beauty.
The words are flowing out nicely.
Quite talented.


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## GUNS (9 Nov 2006)

The soldiers knew not this morning,
that God would call his name.

For in life he did his duty,
and in his death we will do the same.

A fallen soldier has left us,
but he did not go alone.

For a part of us went with him,
the day that God had called him home.

You left us with cherished memories,
your dedication to duty will be our guide.

And though we cannot see you,
you will always be at our side.

The military family is broken,
and nothing will seem the same.

But when God calls us all together,
the family will be one again.


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## Mike Baker (9 Nov 2006)

Very nice


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## ProPatria Mike (9 Nov 2006)

well done!


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## RHFC_piper (10 Nov 2006)

*We lay the Wreath, We wear the Poppy*


In 1914, young men answered the call to war. It was to be the war to end all wars. Young men fought in fields of mud and poppies, in trenches filled knee deep in water, through disease and famine. 

They fought against the loud bombardments of cannons, the roar of machine guns, and the silent onslaught of Mustard and Chlorine gas, all as new to the battle field as the men who faced them.

They fought for King and Country, for freedom and humanity, and for their families. They sacrificed all for their cause, and continued to fight the battles long after the wars end. 

In Flanders Fields a Poem was written which would inspire, and on Armistice Day, November 11 1918, when the guns fell silent, we vowed to remember. 

We lay the wreath for them. 
We wear the poppy to remember. 


In 1939 a new war consumed Europe, and soon our young men were called upon again. Our families were called upon as well, to support the soldiers who, once again, offered their lives to the cause of humanity and freedom, to once again take up the fight.

They fought abroad, in foreign towns and foreign fields, against a determined foe. They fought for the future of our freedom. They fought to liberate the oppressed. And back home, the families worked to support the cause. 

They gave their lives, not only for the freedom of their loved ones, but for the freedom of the world. 

And again, when the war ended the battles raged on in those who fought. 

When Victory bells rang on May 8th, 1945, our vow of remembrance continued and grew. Now we remember not only those who fought abroad, but also those who fought at home. 

We lay the wreath for them. 
We wear the poppy to remember.


In 1950, our young men were called upon again to aid the cause of freedom. With Blue Beret and mandate for peace, our young men take on Canada's new role as Peacekeepers. But, again, peace comes at a tremendous cost, both body and mind. 

They fought in the name of Peace and Stability. They fought what seemed to be a hopeless cause. And while they fought, they unknowingly paved a new path for future generations of Peacekeepers.

Though a shaky peace was reached, the fight will continue in them. 

When an end came to the bloody and unfinished conflict in 1953, our vow still rang true. We will remember their sacrifice to freedom. We will remember their role in Canada's heritage of peacekeeping. 

We lay the wreath for them. 
We wear the poppy to remember. 


Since Korea, Canada has forged its reputation as the worlds finest peacekeepers in some of the worlds least peaceful countries; Cyprus, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, to name a few. 

Although these missions were that of peace our young men and now women still faced a fight. Once battles of bullets and bombs now became battles of will. These young soldiers now faced atrocities and oppression. The battles became their prevention and the preservation of humanity. 

And when diplomacy failed, they were left no choice but to fight. Theirs were casualties of emotion and sanity as well as physical injury. 

They continue to fight for the cause of freedom around the world. Our vow extends to their cause and sacrifice. We will forever reap the benefits of a more stable and peaceful world as they continue their work. 

We lay the wreath for them. 
We wear the poppy to remember.


Now our sons and daughters, brothers and sister, mothers and fathers heed the call to serve in far off lands. Again we fight for peace. Again we fight for humanity. And again we fight to bring freedom to those who desperately crave it.

Those who fight now in Afghanistan fight for the same causes as those who came before. Our freedom was won by our grandfathers and great grandfathers. Peace was and still is upheld by our fathers and brothers. And now we take up the fight to win freedom for others, in the hopes that they can know peace.

We fight in deserts, in dust and sand. We fight invisible enemies, who are determined to negate peace and freedom. We fight in fields of Poppies, like our great grandfathers. We fight for a cause as just and righteous as our grandfathers; the cause of freedom. We fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, in the hopes that we will inspire them to strive for peace. 

Our young men and women continue to sacrifice their very being to achieve a distant and daunting goal. They will continue to fight their battles long after their goal is won. 

And while they continue to strive for peace and long after, our vow must continue. We must remember the sacrifice for humanity, peace and freedom.

We lay the wreath for them. 
We wear the poppy to remember. 


We pass the tradition, we pass the torch, to our children and our children's children, to remember forever. 

We lay the wreath not only to remember our veterans, but also to teach our children, and in turn, they will do the same. 

They will lay the wreaths.
They will wear the poppies. 
And they will remember.


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## Nfld Sapper (10 Nov 2006)

+10 RHFC_piper  :cheers:


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## 17thRecceSgt (10 Nov 2006)

Piper,

Perfect.   

MRM


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## RHFC_piper (10 Nov 2006)

Here is the Powerpoint Presentation I wrote that for. Feel free to use it, change it (for the better) and or do what ever with it.

Cheers,

Piper


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## tomahawk6 (10 Nov 2006)

Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead! 
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old, 
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold. 
These laid the world away; poured out the red 
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be 
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene, 
That men call age; and those who would have been, 
Their sons, they gave, their immortality. 

Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth, 
Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain. 
Honour has come back, as a king, to earth, 
And paid his subjects with a royal wage; 
And Nobleness walks in our ways again; 
And we have come into our heritage. 

Rupert Brooke 1914


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## Pea (10 Nov 2006)

That you for sharing that presentation Piper. Very well done!


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## Yrys (12 Nov 2006)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6131706.stm

from Rebecca Sullivan

There Lie Forgotten Men

They lie there in their thousands
The last rays of sunlight
Catching the white of the gravestones
Lending a poignancy to the moment
Numbering in their thousands they lay
Deserving remembrance
And yet the scarred green fields are empty
Nothing remains here
The processions of people vanished with the years
Their sacrifice all but forgotten

She stands there alone
At the edge of the silent place
And she is shocked
New wars brew and these forgotten men
Will play no part in them
The dead silence warn no ears but hers
In great halls in moments of great decision
What they fought for is forsaken
And by days end new gravestones
Appear on the blood red ground

She finds what she seeks
‘Sgt John Malley Age 27’
His life brutally ended
And she stands by his grave
But he can give no answers
And she weeps for him
For the empty hole he left behind
And for the new emptiness
Soon to join the black chasm
And her tears join the flood


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## NB_Sailor (25 Nov 2006)

*A Soldiers Christmas Visit*


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard into a winters delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids grew heavy; my breathing was deep,
securely surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
so I started to slumber, perhaps even to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
but I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Maybe just a cough or the wind, I didn't quite know.
Then the sure sound of footsteps came from outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
There I saw standing in the cold and dark of the night,
a lone figure, his face drawn weary and tight.

A Canadian Soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps an RCR or PPCLI, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child. 
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
you should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said, "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Pop died in Europe on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Nan will always remember."
My dad stood his watch in Korea, another far away land,
and now it is my turn and so here I stand.
I've not seen my own son in almost a year,
but my wife sends me pictures, he said with a tear.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
the red and the white ... a Canadian flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet;
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
Who stand at the front against any and all,
to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "and harbour no fright,
your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
offer you lodging" I asked, "or prepare you a feast?”
”It seems all too little for all that you've done,
for being away for so long from your wife and your son."
Then down his cheek a single tear fell that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
to fight for our rights at home while we're gone,
to stand your own watch, just as we stand our out here alone.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remembered that we fought and we bled 
is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
that we mattered to you just as you mattered to us."


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## Yrys (1 Dec 2006)

Full poem of the quote 928

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Charles M. Province

http://www.iwvpa.net/provincecm/


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## tomahawk6 (2 Dec 2006)

Freedom’s Soldier

Be of faith young Soldier, though about you shadows dark descend!
You are not alone -- if for freedom’s sake you bravely risk your end!
And, forget not young Soldier, though a freedom’s sun is sweetest,
there are worldly foes indeed, who curse to steal that light of day!
Take heart young Soldier, if freedom and justice be your treasures,
no man, no tyrant nor even God -- can weigh a sacrifice as cheap!
Be confident young Soldier, that all those of noblest acts and valor,
your Fathers’ fallen friends -- live still -- the ageless rest of champions.
And, when the longest day is done, if you -- by fortune’s hand remain,
preserve well in faith those who gave, so you could humbly live again!


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## tomahawk6 (10 Mar 2007)

Ran across this prayer and found it to be quite moving.

A SAS Soldier's Prayer

I bring this prayer to You, Lord 
For You alone can give 
What one cannot demand from oneself. 
Give me, Lord, what you have left over, 
Give me what no-one ever asks You for. 
I don't ask You for rest, 
Or quiet, 
Whether of soul or body; 
I don't ask You for wealth, 
Nor for success, nor even health perhaps. 
That sort of thing You get asked for so much 
That You can't have any of it left. 
Give me, Lord, what you have left over, 
Give me what no-one wants from you. 
I want insecurity, strife, 
And I want You to give me these 
Once and for all. 
So that I can be sure of having them always, 
Since I shall not always have the courage 
To ask You for them. 
Give me, Lord, what You have left over, 
Give me what others want nothing to do with. 
But give me courage too, 
And strength and faith; 
For You alone can give 
What one cannot demand from oneself.

- Lt. Andre Zirnheld, SAS, died in battle July 26, 1941, this was found in his uniform.


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## mudrecceman (10 Mar 2007)




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## R.O.S (10 Mar 2007)

So from what I understand, he wants strife for himself so that others do not have it. Please correct me if I am wrong.


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## wannabe SF member (10 Mar 2007)

I found it quite inspiring.


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## CdtBosn (10 Mar 2007)

From my reading of it you would be correct R.O.S which is what makes it so inspiring that he would be willing to take the strife and pain so that other may live in a safer world. Thank you all so much for helping to keep our homeland safe even though others may criticize you for protecting us and our way of life.

Cheers,

Shay


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