They carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs, watches and dog tags, insect repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine tablets, sterno, LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks.  They carried standard fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets, and steel pots.  They carried the M-16 assault rifle.  They carried trip flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-70 grenade launcher, M-14's, CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's, 66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols, silencers, the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and sometimes the sound of silence.  They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an assortment of hand grenades, PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes.

Some carried napalm, CBU's, and large bombs; some risked their lives to rescue others.  Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and damage.  Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive.

They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworms, and leaches.  They carried the land itself as it hardened on their boots.  They carried stationery, pencils, and pictures of their loved ones - real and imagined.  They carried love for people in the real world, and love for one another.  And sometimes they disguised that love:  "Don't mean nothin'!"

They carried memories!

For the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a kind of dignity.  Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people squealed, or wanted to, but couldn't; when they twitched and made moaning sounds and covered their heads and said "Dear God", and hugged the earth and fired their weapons blindly, and cringed and begged for the noise to stop, and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and God and their parents, hoping not to die.  They carried the traditions of the United States military, and memories and images of those who served before them.  They carried grief, terror, longing, and their reputations.

They carried the soldier's greatest fear:  the embarrassment of dishonor.  They crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under fire, so as not to die of embarrassment.  They were afraid of dying, but too afraid to show it.  They carried the emotional baggage of men and women who might die at any moment.  They carried the weight of the world, and the weight of every free citizen of America.

THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER.

~Author Unknown~

Remember them this Memorial Day, May 28th.  They are the backbone of our country.  They are the reason we live in a free society today.

Thank you, Veterans, for your services to the people of the USA!  May God bless each of you for your bravery under fire.

 

VETERANS OF ALL WARS Above and beyond they gave their all, They didn't run, they answered each call. If not for them where would we be - This land of the brave and home of the free. Dodging bullets and mortars, Stumbling over dead, frozen faces, Watching their buddies in helicopters Exploding from earthly places, Taking hits and losing blood, Fighting on, no matter the cost, In all kinds of weather, This war must not be lost! Could YOU handle it? Could YOU come home With any kind of peace? Could you NOT have nightmares without cease? So give a moment on Memorial Day To remember our Veterans so brave. Honor them for the allegiance to this country That each man and woman gave. ~Copyright © May, 2001 Elzie Hayes~

 

 

This patriotic medley arranged by:
Don Carroll.



Visit JavaScript Source!! for free, original scripts!

Copyright © May, 2001-2003 Poem "Veterans of All Wars", placement of designs and text by Elzie Hayes.
All rights reserved.