A Soldier
I was that which others did not want to be I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do I asked nothing of those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness should I fail... I have seen the face of Terror Felt the stinging cold of fear and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moments love I have cried, pained and hoped... but most of all I have lived times others would say are best forgotten .. At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was... ...A soldier
~unknown



It's not the critic who counts, Not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled or the doer of deeds could have done better The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; Who, at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement: and at worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat! ~Theodore Roosevelt~



In the dust of defeat, as well as in the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best ~Eric Liddel



Oklahoma Bill


The General just gave me a medal... ohh...I'm a sight for mom to see.. but when news gets round that I ain't got old bill... Some kids gonna think a whole lot less of me...

ya see she gave me that puppy and said he'd protect me through the night and if I got hurt he'd go for help... or back me up in a fight...

He growed all while I was trainin...forget him..shh..I never will... cause you'd never see me but right at my heels was Oklahoma Bill...

We hit a lone ridge one sun up.. and it seems like death held all the cards... cause we paid and paid with lives of men with ever hard fought yard...

When finally we drove from the top.. there wasn't nothin but death behind... And as we dug in we all thanked god.. though we numbered only nine...

And there the snipers switched there guns.. as darkness cloaked that hill... my soul companion in the night was Oklahoma Bill..

There's no glory in a battle once you've seen it's awful cost.. but there's glory in the knowledge that your flag was never lost... and yet in the stillness of the night time when all alone you hold a post.. you start cryin like a baby sittin there with all a ghost...

Ya feel ya buddies pattin your back... though there guns are silent and still... it's only a dog tryin to love ya... my Oklahoma Bill...

I gave him a note to the colonel.. and bound his shattered leg... and said "Bill..We're sure in trouble".. he never wimpered or begged.. I could tell he hated to leave me.. I's the only god he ever knew.. but quick as a flash he took off through the night like a fightin Marine ad do...

I kept firin till help finally came.. it is him though that saved that hill a dyin dog had got through the line.. my Oklahoma Bill

That little kid'll always wonder what happened to her dog... But she'll find out on Judgment day when she sees the big Skippers log... We'll all walk in and bugles will blow and we'll stand out last tribune and men who've died from men on earth will get there heavenly do's...

and if all brave hearts are there that day... I'll get my greatest thrill... to hang this medal around the neck.... of Oklahoma Bill....

~unknown~



Those who clamor for peace imply that “We” Want and support war That couldn’t be further from the Truth. Having experienced war “Up close and personal,” I know what it is all about, As the Philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote, “War is an Ugly thing, but not the Ugliest of things; The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling Which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which to he is willing to fight; Nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; Is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, Unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”

I had a dream near 3a.m. That crashed into my night. A multitude of warriors Standing in full sight

On their anguished faces Were grim and hateful glares, They wore Marine Corps blouses Yet all they did was stare.

I saw wounds of Belleau Wood, I saw the scars of Guam, The dead were there of Heart Break Ridge, And a company from ‘Nam.

Then one spoke out and asked me A question loud and Strong: “Can they burn the flag we died for? How can it not be wrong?”

I did not have an answer To ease their angry pain I could only give excuses For a Country gone insane…

I saw the flag of Iwo Just Before I died I saw the lead pole lifted Where the Flag was safely tied.

I know it’s just a symbol That flies above our Graves, But let it be a symbol Of what these men and I gave.

When that dream was over, And I awoke with fear and shame, To think a fool can trample The flag that bears OUR names….