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Vietnam Tears

I stood and I watched as a mother cried,
when she had heard that her son had died.
He didn't die because he was sick,
or he didn't die because he was in a wreck.
He died doing what he felt was right.

I watched a father try to hold back his tears,
His son had lived only a scant 19 years.
His son had died nine thousand miles away,
And what was there left for a father to say?
He got down on his knees and said a prayer,
His brave son knows his father did care.

I stood and watched as a little girl cried.
She didn't understand why her brother had passed on;
Why he never again played with her on the lawn.
Looking at the little girl's tears I knew,
That her big brother died fighting for you and me.
~ Author Unknown ~

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Somewhere in the night a quiet professional is waiting.
He does not care that he is tired.
That his hardened body is sleep deprived.
He is unbroken and vigilant in his task.

Somewhere this warrior is the final tripwire.
He has trained all his life in brutal conditions day and night.
This barren and desolate world is his home.
He lives and survives by an ancient Creed.

Somewhere this weapon of war will not ask nor give quarter.
He thrives on the mission and completing his objective.
That he allows the taste of fear to motivate his actions.
He is...the final option.

~Mingo Kane ~
Author of "Scars of The Prophet"

© 1985 A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,

He was just a common Soldier and his ranks are growing thin.

But his presence should remind us, we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the Soldier's part,

is to clean up all the troubles, that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor, while he's here to hear the praise,

then at least let's give him homage, at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline, in the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,

FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Or the ordinary fellow, who in times of war and strife,

It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago,

that our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's, went to battle, but we know.

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

who won for us the freedom, that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

would you really want some cop-out, with his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier, who has sworn to defend,

his home, his kin, and Country, and would fight until the end?

goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

The politician's stipend and the style in which he lives,

are sometimes disproportionate, to the service he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension, small.

and he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done.

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, everyone.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

all his buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer, for ol' Bob has passed away,

and the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many, just his children and his wife.

For he lived an ordinary, very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family, quietly going on his way;

and the world won't note his passing; 'tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state.

While thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories, from the time that they were young,

but the passing of a soldier, goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution, to the welfare of our land,

some jerk who breaks his promise, and cons his fellow man?

To all our Soldiers past and present, God Bless

A Soldier will stand and fight all night to

While a Soldier works straight through

hungry and weary on his feet

While you sit around and complain about what

you have or where you live

Remember what a Soldier somewhere for you is

A Soldier stands tall and proud and ready for

We must stand strong behind them through

their hard and arduous plight

While some of us sit at home and refuse to

Some sit around and complain all day how

While a Soldier pushes that aside to continue

Some sit around and complain about the food

Glory to the American Flag, long may she wave

So many have been covered with her when they've

So many of us have taken for granted that our

We tend to forget those who have kept that

Far above the storm clouds gathering

Of heroes long since past

I will take my place among them

When that final die is cast

Let not your heart be troubled

That's what I've always heard

But I stood for what I believed in

With these my final words

For in this life but few things matter

In this short time that we have here

Leaving nothing behind but our honor

The thing we hold most dear

Far above that midnight sky

Looking out just past the rainbow

Where eagles dare not fly

Our dead brothers still live for us and bid us think of life,
not death-of life to which in their youth
they lent the passion and joy of the spring.
As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again
and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers
and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more.
a note of daring, hope and will.
I see them now, as once I saw them on this earth.
They are the same bright figures that come also before your eyes and when I speak of those who were my brothers,
the same words describe yours.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

""We fought a revolution to secure your liberty. You trade your wealth for paper so your life can be controlled. A Visitor From the Past (Anonymous)

I had a dream the other night, I didn't understand,
You pay for crimes that make our nation turn from God in shame.
You've taken Satan's number as you've traded in your name.
A figure walking through the mist, with a flintlock in his hand.
His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by my bed.
He took off his three cornered hat, and speaking low, he said

We wrote the Constitution, as a shield from tyranny.
For future generations, this legacy we gave.
In this the land of the free and the Home of the Brave."

"The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you'd always keep.
But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were asleep.
Your freedom gone, your courage lost, you're no more than a slave.
In this the Land of the Free and the home of the brave"

"You buy permits to travel, and permits to own a gun,
Permits to start a business, or to build a place for one.
On the land you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent.
Although you have no voice in choosing how the money is spent"

"Your children must attend a school that doesn't educate.
Your Christian Values can't be taught, according to the state.
You read about the current news, in a regulated press.
You pay a tax you do not owe to please the IRS"

"Your money is no longer made of silver or of gold.

As I awoke he vanished in to the mist from whence came.
His words were true, we are not free, we have ourselves to blame.
For even now as Tyrants trample each God given right.
We only watch and tremble, too afraid to stand and fight.

If he stood by your bed side in a dream, while you're asleep.
And wonders what remains of our Rights he fought to keep.
What would be your answer? If he called out from the grave.

"Is this still the land of the free and the home of the Brave?""

This Soldier poem taken from The Wall USA site...

HE'S ONLY A SAILOR ON THE BOUNDLESS DEEP,

UNDER FOREIGN SKIES AND TROPICAL HEAT.

ONLY A SAILOR ON THE ROLLING DEEP,

IN SUMMER RAIN AND WINTER SLEET.

HE'S ONLY A SAILOR FOR UNCLE SAM,

FAR FROM HIS HOME AND NATIVE LAND.

HE'S ONLY A SAILOR SOME FOLKS SAY,

HE CAN MAKE A LIVING NO OTHER WAY.

THEY SAY, "HE'S A SAILOR OF THEM BEWARE,"

NO MORE OF HIM THAN A DOG DO THEY CARE.

HE'S ONLY A VAGABOND WHO'S NEVER BEEN BORN,

AND IT'S BECAUSE HE WEARS A NAVY UNIFORM.

YOU MAY CALL HIM A PAUPER OR A GOVERNMENT BUM,

BUT REMEMBER FOLKS HE'S THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN.

AND WHEN EVER WAR CLOUDS ARISE IN THE PEACEFUL SKY,

'TIS HE NOT YOU THAT GOES FORTH TO DIE.

'TIS HE THAT STANDS IN HIS SUIT OF BLUE,

TO DEFEND HIS HOME AND YOU.

'TIS HE THAT WALKS THE DECKS OF SHIPS,

'TIS HE THAT WOULD DIE WITH A SMILE ON HIS LIPS.

WHILE YOU ENJOY THAT WHICH HE HAS DONE,

GAST HIM OFF WITH A SNEER AND CALL HIM A BUM.

IF IT WERE NOT FOR HIM, WHOM YOU DESPISE AND HATE,

FOREIGN POWER INVADING WOULD MAKE YOUR FATE.

THEN YOU WOULD CRY ALOUD FOR THE BOYS IN BLUE,

BUT IF THERE WERE NONE PRAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

AND A SAILORS WIFE WHO TRAVELS THE WHOLE WORLD OVER,

TO BE WITH HER MAN ONE DAY OUT OF FOUR.

IS SNUBBED AND SHIED BY THE BEST IN EACH TOWN,

WHEN THEY SO NEED A SMILE THEY SEE ONLY A FROWN.

THEY REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS TRUE,

TO HER MAN, HER COUNTRY, THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE.

THE APARTMENT HOUSE LANDLORD SAYS, "NO NAVY ALLOWED,"

AN INSULT TO HER HUSBAND OF WHOM SHE IS PROUD.

THEN REMEMBER WE TO OUR FLAG ARE TRUE,

SO PLEASE TRY TO GIVE THEM THAT WHICH IS DUE.

FOR BEFORE THEY ENLISTED TO WEAR THE SUIT OF BLUE,

THEY WERE CIVILIANS THE SAME AS YOU!

In Your Honor

Unselfishly, you left your fathers and your mothers,

You left behind your sisters and your brothers.
Leaving your beloved children and wives,

You put on hold, your dreams-your lives.
On foreign soil, you found yourself planted

To fight for those whose freedom you granted.
Without your sacrifice, their cause would be lost

But you carried onward, no matter the cost.

Many horrors you had endured and seen.

Many faces had haunted your dreams.
You cheered as your enemies littered the ground;

You cried as your brothers fell all around.

When it was over, you all came back home,

Some were left with memories to face all alone;
Some found themselves in the company of friends

As their crosses cast shadows across the land.

Those who survived were forever scarred

Emotionally, physically, permanently marred.
Those who did not now sleep eternally

'Neath the ground they had given their lives to keep free.

With a hand upon my heart, I feel The pride and respect; my reverence is revealed
In the tears that now stream down my upturned face

As our flag waves above you, in her glory and grace.
Freedom was the gift that you unselfishly gave

Pain and death was the price that you ultimately paid.
Every day, I give my utmost admiration

To those who had fought to defend our nation.
~ Author Unknown ~

In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past

Conditions Where Not Always Best They Could Be

From Mountain Highs to Valley Lows

We Will search For as Long As It Takes

Men Standing Tall and Proud They be A Country Behind Them in a Solemn Sea

So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

Jerry Calow (copyright 2003 )

In the Sun, In the Rain In the Winds Across This Land

Years of Tears Has Brought Us Here Gathering Around to Hear This Sound

So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

In the Sun, In the Rain, In the Winds Across This Land

In the Sun, In the Rain, In the Winds For All Time

You're Not Forgotten And Will Always Be:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers, In Our Minds For All Time

A Moment of Silence, a Moment of Summons

Is Their Deliverance of Body And Soul

To a Sacred Place That We All Know Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers In Our Minds For All Time

INTERLUDE: GOLD STAR MOTHERS GRIEVE: ENDLESSLY, ENDLESSLY, ENDLESSLY.......

These Immortalized Soldiers Whose Bravery Abounds They¹re Our Husbands, Fathers, and Sons

They Enlisted For the Duty at Hand To Serve the Cause of Country and Land:

They Had Honor, They Had Valor, They Found Glory That Change Them Forever

From Jungle Drops to Desert Patrols

Our Sinewy Sons Were Sent Over Seas

Far From Their Families And Far From Their Dreams

They Never Wrote Letters Of Hardships Despair Only Of Love,

Yearning That One Day Soon:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume

And Carry On With The Rest of Their Lives

The P.O.W.¹S Stood Steadfast Against the Indignities And Cruelties Of War

They Could Not Have Lasted as Long as They Did If They Had Relinquished Their Hope That Some Day:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume

And Carry On the Rest Of Their Lives

Medics, Nurses, and Chaplains Alike

Did What They Needed To Bring Back Life

They Served Our Forces From Day Into Night

Not Questioning If They Would Survive:

They Mended Bones And Bodies Too,

They Soothed the Spirits of Dying Souls

And for Those M.I.A¹S, Who Were Left Behind

We Echo This Message Across the Seas

Fighting a Foe You Could Not Always See:

Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last

I saw a burial with a bugler playing taps; SOLDIER
By: Ed Coet, Major, USA-Retired

I turned to my father, "what happened?" I asked.
He clutched my hand and with a quiver in his voice,
he began to explain and his eyes became moist.

Posted on The Wall Site for Cpl Brent R Jones.

The Stranger

This poem was written by Callie Crofts, Firth High School class of 2004.
Sunday, March 27, 2005

There's a tear in the fabric of his being

... Where the memories lie waiting to remind him

... Of the horror and the carnage

Which civilians never see

For it'd shatter their reality

And leave them in a state of what

But it's tipped the balance

Who comes to calmer waters

Where life's normal once again

But he's having trouble fitting in

For he's shaken bad internally;

it's a price they paid for defending

But the dreams are never ending.

John Breska 44th Scout Platoon, 25th Division Viet Nam 69-70 -

The Rods and Wire of Steel at my Core are

For those Who gave their Lives

Never to return in Body.

They are the strength of our Wall.

The Mass of Mortar of my Body

Is for the Mass of Men and Women

Who left their Families and

Dedicated their Courage and Time to a Cause.

The Medal of Honors and Navy Crosses on my Face

Are for the strength and Resolve

For which We stood.

I stand before three Boats

That represent all the Units of our Conflict -- all Conflicts.

Conceived and Nurtured and

Built with Loving Care and

Thought by a few for All.

Standing in Respectful Memory,

Hoping to have no others built like Me

If ever called upon again.

Respect Me, Hold Me, Caress Me, Love Me,

As I Love You.

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A COLLECTION OF SOLDIER'S POEMS - In Honor of Our Military

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Somewhere in the night a quiet professional is waiting.He does not care that he is tired.That his hardened body is sleep deprived.He is unbroken and vigilant in his task. Somewhere this warrior is the final tripwire.He has trained all his life in brutal conditions day and night.This barren and desolate world is his home.He lives and survives by an ancient Creed.

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I find the lines memorable because they show that the family cares about them.

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I have chosen this because it represents the marines, by showing they have bravery.

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I have chosen the flag because it shows who they are.

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I chose this image because it shows how organised they are.

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I chose this because it shows how hard they work

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I chose this because it shows how many things they can conquer.

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I chose this because it shows how hard they train.

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Most Recent Episodes

Living in a world where the threat is constantly evolving and changing is challenging. Finding the technology and capabilities to meet and defeat those threats in a timely manner can sometimes prove twice as daunting. But for one team at Program Executive Office Land Systems, those challenges do not deter them, but rather energizes and drives them to find creative solutions for Marines who face those threats daily. They are the newest program team at PEO LS, the Ground Based Air Defense team, also known as GBAD. They are quickly making a name for themselves not only for the diverse capabilities that they will be fielding, but also for the speed in which they are getting that gear in the hands of Marines. On this episode, Manny chats with the Program Manager for GBAD, Don Kelley.

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The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions or the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.
Show Notes:

Book recommendation- Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram

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The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions or the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.
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Meet the host

Tripp Elliott enlisted as an infantryman in the Virginia National Guard and has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mathematics. His supported programs include Shoulder Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon - Novel Explosive, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle and Target Location, Designation and Hand-Off System.

Tripp has over 26 years working in acquisition and system safety, both with Marine Corps and Navy. Tripp is a husband and father, a Boy Scout of America leader and a beekeeper.

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Most Recent Episodes Living in a world where the threat is constantly evolving and changing is challenging. Finding the technology and capabilities to meet and defeat those threats in a timely manner can sometimes prove twice as daunting.

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The first and only podcast covering the battles, strategies, political decisions, and origin of the United States Marine Corps, from the origin of Tun Tavern to today.

Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product (or promotion, or service, or activity).

The first and only podcast covering the battles, strategies, political decisions, and origin of the United States Marine Corps, from the origin of Tun Tavern to today.

Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product (or promotion, or service, or activity).

Outstanding Podcast Marine!

Needed to listen to something different while I was working and came across this podcast. I remember a lot of it, was reminded of stuff I had forgotten and I am learning a buttload of stuff I've never known. It has been 32 years since I have been in and highly recommend this podcast to anyone who wants to learn about Marine Corps history (good and bad)

Thanks Sir

I'm going down to enlist at the end of this month and I was recommended this podcast by my recruiter.

Semper Fi!

Love this podcast! Found it a few months ago and got hooked. Had to go back and start from the beginning and now I'm caught up! The only thing that drives my OCD crazy, is, please Robert, start pronouncing the letter "T" as appropriate. The word is "imporTant ", not "imporant". Lol. I was amazed at your explanation about the proper pronunciation of LeJeune!
Semper Fi and keep up the great work!

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‎History of the Marine Corps on Apple Podcasts

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The first and only podcast covering the battles, strategies, political decisions, and origin of the United States Marine Corps, from the origin of Tun Tavern to today. Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized t...

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The eagle proudly carries a streamer in its beak that bears the motto of the Corps: Semper Fidelis. The Globe signifies the worldwide commitment of the Marine Corps and its areas of responsibility. Marines serve in any clime or place.

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If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;

A body of England’s, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

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If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Poetry Out Loud Note: This poem has had two titles: "The Soldier" and "Nineteen-Fourteen: The Soldier". The student may give either title during the recitation.

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The Soldier by Rupert Brooke | Poetry Magazine

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If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam; A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

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Marines.mil - Official website of the United States Marine Corps

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The official website of the United States Marine Corps