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| IT IS THE SOLDIER |
| 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 Lawyer, who has given us the Right to a Free Trial. It is the Soldier, who salutes the Flag, who serves under the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the Flag, who allows the Protestor to burn the Flag. |
| Author Unknown |
| FREEDOM ISN'T FREE |
| I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it, and then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform; so young, so tall, so proud. With hair cut square and eyes alert, he'd stand out in any crowd. I thought, how many men like him had fallen through the years? How many died on foreign soil? How many Mother's tears? How many pilots' planes shot down? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, Freedom is not free. I heard the sound of 'Taps' one night, when everything was still. I listened to the bugler play and felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times that 'Taps' had meant 'Amen', when a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend. I thought of all the children, of Mothers and the Wives, of Fathers, Sons and Husbands with interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea, of unmarked graves at Arlington. No, Freedom isn't free! Remember this ..... and GOD BLESS AMERICA |
to change background
March Music
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| BRASS BANDS and PARADES |
| Most of the time they come and they go. Most people don't care and most people don't know who guards their freedom every day of the year. Someone's awake in the cold and the hot. Most people at home don't give them a thought. What are their names? What do they dream of? Are they lonely and tired? Are they falling in love? How far from home are they? What are their fears? Every day they are due Brass Bands and our Cheers. |
| Christina Sharik |
| ONE YEAR |
| WHEN I WAS 17 I WORRIED ABOUT: learning enough to pass final exams would I have enough gas for my car friends going their own way after graduation having a date on Friday night losing my girlfriend. WHEN I WAS 18 I WORRIED ABOUT: learning enough to survive a war, not pass an exam having enough ammunition for my rifle, rather than gas for my car my friends being killed, rather than going their own ways being point man on a Friday night ambush, rather than a date losing my life, rather than my girlfriend |
| © Don Schaffer |
| THE MEMORIAL |
| We tried, we tried, Oh God we tried, So we could be here too; And walk around remembering And look for names we knew. Our lives were lost so far away, upon a distant shore. But we are here in memory As you read our names once more. Remember us, Remember us, Although we're truly gone. |
What if the Generals all said "GO!"
But the Mothers of the world all said "NO!"
Christina Sharik
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Toast to the Flag
| Here's to the red of it - There's not a thread of it, No, nor a shred of it In all the spread of it From foot to head. But heroes bled for it, Faced steel and lead for it, Precious blood shed for it, Bathing it red! Here's to the white of it - Thrilled by the sight of it. Who knows the right of it, But feels the might of it Through day and night? Womanhood's care for it Made manhood dare for it. Purity's prayer for it Keeps it so white. Here's to the blue of it - Beauteous view of it, Heavenly hue of it, Star-spangled dew of it Constant and true. Diadems gleam for it, States stand supreme for it, Liberty's beam for it Brightens the blue! Here's to the whole of it - Stars, stripes and pole of it. Body and soul of it, O, and the roll of it, Sun shining through. Hearts in accord for it, Thanking the Lord for it, Red, White and Blue! |
Author Unknown
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The poetry used above
came from the following sources:
C S "ARMYMOM" POEMS
DON SCHAFFER'S WEB PAGE
FROM THE HEART
VIETNAM WAR LITERARY LINKS
MILITARY TRIBUTE POETRY PAGE
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