And here is one for you.......
GOD BLESS AMERICA - GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY! |
Posted on 11/08/2001 11:27:32 PM PST by Snow Bunny
An excerpt from...
You will all have guessed by now
the purpose of our meeting: we propose
to Honor you; Invest you with a medal; Pronounce
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
Over your memory. It is a word, Decorum,
That all of you will laugh to hear,
Knowing, variously and well, how indecorous are results
Of pumpkin balls, automatic weaponsfire
And exploding mortars, but it is one you will forgive
Because you have all explored the depth and width
That separate intention and accomplishment.
That's why I trust in you as well
For patience: you will understand
That I, in my self-chosen summoner's role
Must stand upon decorum too, and tell you all
Exactly what you represent.
You, John, come first. Your sturdy shade
Stands proxy for some fifty-eight thousand youths
Who died. In our group you are the standard; the classic;
You heard your country call your name
In a legal, established, time-honored way,
And because you'd taken milk at her warm breast
Figured that she had a right to call. Therefore,
You did not run away, or rush to graduate school,
Or flee to your Uncle's Canada cabin. You submitted
Your time and your energy and your life
To authority you deemed constituted,
And you didn't ask, By whom? I hope, John,
That this recital does not cause you
To feel ordinary: you were not ordinary
About standing fast with leeches clinging to your ears,
Or lying still with fireants crawling in your shirt,
Or being plopped by whirlybirds in clearings
Ringed by trees that dripped your deaths
Like moss. Nor were you ordinary in the strength
Of faith exchanged with each other. Hometown newspapers
Made their way, as bad news always does,
To your sandbagged hooches in the rocks. The news
Spoke of Black-White bloody strife
In Detroit or L.A., and for a day or two or three
Joe or Bill, your opposite number
(As to race, I mean), turned cool and cut you off.
That lasted until a mine went off,
Or mortar shells arrived in camp,
Or that "other" bunch of grunts across the wire
Struck at your perimeter. Then you coalesced,
Buddied up, were tolerant again of madness
And carried each other out. I want you to know, John,
That Stuart went alone to weep
Beside your hooch when you were blown away,
And then drank beer with Joe across an afternoon
To keep your wake.
Nor were you ordinary, John, in what you paid
For faithfulness. The price, on reexamination proved
Too high by far, and payment was demanded
In the wrong currency. The problem was not
Dying - you bore that well enough.
Nor was it filth, since you were sure
There were showers in your future, late or soon.
Nor did the difficulty lie
In your universal, 'Nam-wide and absolute conviction
That all intelligent generals
Had been left at home. Mudhole soldiers
Have always hated generals until
The generals run for President, and besides,
Colonel BlackJack Davis held your loyalty
And Lieutenant Ken Kirkes came as close to being a friend
As grunts will permit an officer to come.
(Did you know, John, about Kirkes? He went out
On the same bridge where it ended for you.)
No, the thing that tore a hole in you
In a most secret, private place
Was your isolation. It didn't help that Dad
Or Grandma out in Tuscaloosa, or Cheyenne,
Thought you the best there was. To you
All that shining equipment flashing lights
Of amber or green that the Army lent you
(Marines don't buy that stuff)
Brought no reassurance, nor did the fact
That the whole U.S. Government (so it seemed)
Set itself to pimping for you, safely to insure
That you had a good time on R&R. You knew you were
An embarrassment to a lot of people back home,
And somehow it didn't seem embarrassment ought to go
Together with what you were going through.
And you were right, John. It hadn't ought
To have gone together, but it did;
You felt abandoned;
Considered yourself
Unpaid, unrecognized, unthanked, compulsory
"Shit shovelers for the whole damned U.S.A.";
You and all those tens of thousands more.
We have come to our senses, John. That is why
To you who died dirty, tired, alone
And very brave;
And to all of you who didn't make it back
(Whether to home, or love, or "normalcy",
Whatever that dreary word may mean),
I carry a message:
Your country finds you beautiful, John;
Your country accepts your service as
Dulce, indeed, and Decorum,
And worthy of unbounded Honor.
[All the names are of real men, and Stuart is one whom I know.]
You might be a Leatherneck if...
Your kindergartner calls recess a smoke break.
You refer to your children as dependents in casual conversation.
You call the family to attention and sing the National Anthem before you put a movie in the VCR.
You refer to food as chow.
You have a dog named Chesty.
You call cadence while walking alone down the street.
You think Motrin cures things.
You wear dog tags to the beach.
You've ever used a commercial buffer.
You pay more attention to the haircuts and ribbons actors wear in military movies than the story line.
You've ever licked a brown plastic spoon and put it back into your pocket for the next meal.
If you maintain a complete, six-day set of never-been-worn socks, briefs and t-shirts strictly for display purposes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And here is one for you.......
GOD BLESS AMERICA - GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY! |
Also, You might be a Marine if:
You look at all bumpers of cars to see if you have to salute as you walk down your home town street
You pick up a pool cue as if you are going to Port Arms
You drink beer at attention
You're amazed there is no line of men trying to sit down next to that single woman in that resturant at the table meant for 4...
You bus your own table, looking for the plastic bucket to put Knives, Forks, and Spoons...
The waitress drops something, and you shout 'CHOW GUARD WITH A MOP'
Good morning all!
you actually own leather shoes, know how to polish them and burn/melt your kiwi polish
never hold anything in your right hand in case you have to salute
LET'S ROLL
Birthday bump
Happy Birthday, Sis!
OK LOUIE, you win, I won't say anything else about THE Wolf today.
Hey is that meter for your statement or mine? LOL
Just ain't gonna let the Wolf do it, are ya?
Methinks the 'meter' is perfect for both of us. Especially you. : )
AME-3 Danny Cherry VA-93 and
AME-2 Carl Blankenship VA-56
Who were killed in action Oct 29 1972
Danny was taking my place that night .........
Some more bears for your collection.
Good morning, King!
BTW....Since I bestowed the title "King" upon you....
I decided find you a 'crown'.
'Queen Liz' gave up the chase after a half a block.
Stay well(may you and yours enjoy good health and good days) - Stay safe (In these troubled times I wish you you and yours safety) - Stay armed (That you may be well and safe and if needed able to answer the call) - Yorktown ( America's victory that established our nation by force of arms. Hopefully we shall all meet and share a toast at the next Yorktown)
Let's try this one:
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