A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-16-04...The Holy Grail of the Marine

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine, deadhead ~

I first posted this at the Canteen in January 2002, having received it from a FReeper and active U.S. Marine (now retired). Thanks, g'nad, for sharing this with us then, and hope you'll enjoy it with us again today.

---

The young Marine was weary
And he sought a little rest.
With his helmet for a pillow
And his rifle on his chest.
He had seen the gunships fire.
He had heard the cannons roar.
He had seen the Navy's power
As he made his way ashore.
Then he thought about his rifle
And he found it rather small.
With the gunships and the cannons,
It was nothing much at all.
The efforts of a rifleman
Meant little, it would seem.
Then, as he slipped to slumber,
He dreamed himself a dream.

---

The man who stood beside him
Held a musket in his hand,
And close around his neck he wore
A heavy leather band.
"When I was an Old Ironsides"
The apparition said,
"There were cannonballs and cutlasses
Wherever danger led.
There were pistols too, and daggers
At every fighter's side,
When the ships would come together
On the rolling, heaving tide.
But when it came to boarding,
With the battle fury hot,
It was rifles, always rifles
That made the telling shot."

---

When we were in the trenches
The apparition faded
And standing in its place
Beneath a shallow helmet
He saw another face.
"When we were in the trenches
In the Wood they call Marine,
There were mortars, tanks, and cannons,
More than I had ever seen.
But when the final charge was made
To push the Germans back
It was rifles, always rifles
At the point of the attack."

---

Who fought and fell at Wake
The face changed only slightly.
And the helmet stayed the same,
But the island that he spoke of
Had a more familiar name.
"They hit us very early
On the day the war begun.
On the wings of all their bombers
We could see the Rising Sun.
Our pilots and our gunners
Who fought and fell at Wake
Wrote a story full of glory
That time can never shake.
But when the enemy drew near,
To make his final reach,
It was rifles, always rifles
That met him on the beach."

---

In 'Fifty at the Chosin,
There next appeared a shadow
In a swirl of stinging snow,
And it breathed a fierce defiance,
And its eyes were all aglow.
In 'Fifty at the Chosin,
When the big guns couldn't talk,
And the First Marine Divison
Took a fighting, freezing walk,
When all the world, except the Corps
Had counted us as gone,
It was rifles, always rifles,
That let us carry on."

---

At Khe Sahn when they shelled us,
The scene was changed to summer.
And the face was hard and lean,
And the tired eyes were fired
With the light that says "Marine".
"At Khe Sahn when they shelled us,
We were wrapped in rolling smoke,
And the thought of our survival
Was a grim and ghastly joke.
But when the waves came swarming in
To finish the assault,
It was rifles, always rifles
That called the final halt."

---

There next appeared a general
As solid as a tank,
With three stars on his collar
To signify his rank.
His stature and demeanor
Were the military type,
And in his hand he carried
A stubby little pipe.
His jaw was squarely chiseled;
His eyes were clear and keen,
And his bearing left no question..
He was all Marine's Marine.
"The message they're conveying,"
The burly General said,
"Is that through our troubled history,
The rifles always led.
We've had cannons, tanks, and mortars;
We've had weapons by the score;
We've had battleships and fighter planes
To complement the Corps."

---

"We've a most impressive arsenal--
That's obviously true--
But the final thrust for victory
Has always been with you.
It was rifles, always rifles,
When the Corps was sorely pressed,
And the rifle that you carry
Must meet the final test.
So sling that rifle proudly,
For everything we do
With mortars, tanks, and cannons
Is just an aid to you."

The young Marine awakened
And put the dream aside,
Though now he clutched his rifle
With a certain touch of pride.
And then he chanced to notice
That lying near his hand
Was a stubby little pipe
And a heavy leather band.

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 01-12-04 Military Monday 01-13-04 Celebrate Living 01-14-04 Freepercize 2004 01-15-04 JohnHuang2 Essay

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45Man
at
danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[Billie]

[Billie]

Good Morning and a Happy Friday to our Finest FRiends.

[knighthawk]

First one again!

Hello!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Billie.

[Texagirl4W]

Good morning, Billie, all. It's a rainy, foggy morning in North Texas but reading over this thread just warms me so, I forget it's raining. I'll come back later this evening to check out the other post. I'm so glad I found this. Have a great Friday, and weekend.

[FreeTheHostages]

[Aquamarine]

Fantastic post ! I like those two sided vingette pictures with the uneven edges, you need to show me how you do that.

The hostess graphic is awesome too although I look a little lonesome. LOL

[JulieRNR21]

Rushing off to a GOP lunch Meeting today to talk about supporting our troops with prayers and letters.....then later on this afternoon Rep. Katherine Harris is announcing her announcement at 1:30PM at a Press Conference in the Newtown community of Sarasota about her decision to either seek reelection to the House or to run for the Senate seat vacated by Graham.

Some pundits have said her decision is the best kept secret since the President visited Iraq on Thanksgiving!

But I wanted to drop in to say Hello to my Finest Freeper Friends & to encourage all the Finest to go to patriciaruth's thread to send a special Valentine message to our troops.

Please go here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1057323/posts

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Friday !

[LadyX]

You just knew I would have to show up for this one!
LOL

As a child, I heard many of the stories of the heroics of the Marines in the Pacific Theater of WWII at islands turned into hellholes of slaughter...

Going into the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict in 1952,
"our" Chesty Puller was a walking legend, beloved by all - -
gotta love this kind of spirit!!

It was during the greatest ever buildup of the Corps,
and pride coursed wide open through our veins,
knowing about the battles at the Chosin Reservoir,
as well as up and down the entire peninsula of South Korea...

May God give peace and rest to all brave men and women who fight for America,
whether in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard.

They all did, and still do, make us proud...

[Billie]

Good morning, knighthawk! Know I'm usually always late posting, but this actually was my third attempt this morning to post the darn thread - it kept locking up. Glad it finally posted, and happy to see you were 'first' again! :)

[Billie]

Good morning, Aeronaut - hope you're not too cold 'up there'. :)

[Billie]

Good morning! It's so nice to see you back here every day again, and I'm glad today's post warms your heart. I need to give g'nad a personal ping since he's the one who sent the original pics/poem to me. :)

[Billie]

YooHoo, Mat - hope you're lurking. (And please bring us a big pot of venison stew for lunch!)

[Billie]

Morning, Freezie! Are you getting lots of quilting done?

Is it my imagination or does it seem the calendar pages are getting prettier and cuter every day? :)

[FreeTheHostages]

Yes, I'm getting quilting done. In fact, I woke up early this morning and quilted and suffered a quilting injury -- a small scissor cut -- to my left forefinger.

I guess I just want to be like you and the rest and have a hand injury. It seems all the fad.

Your hand better?

[FreeTheHostages]

"You just knew I would have to show up for this one!"

LOL

[knighthawk]

I bet it locked up because it's so cooooooooold!

[Billie]

LOL! I didn't think about you looking a litle lonesome in the hostess graphic - I had to clone one or two bluebirds, and I think I added one on the stump instead of another one beside 'you'. :) (You know how I usually try to be so very pc and put us in alphabetical order - MOST of the time!)

Glad you like the post, too. I'll write you in a few minutes about vignetting. :)

[LadyX]