| THE LEFT HANDED SALUTE
THE COLOR GUARD PASSED IN REVIEW, THE BANNERS FLYING HIGH... AND THE CROWD STOOD SILENT IN RESPECT... OLD GLORY PASSING BY. THERE WERE NO PROTESTS AT THE SCENE... JUST AMERICANS PROUD AND TRUE...TO HONOR THE COLORS OF OUR NATION, THE RED, THE WHITE, THE BLUE. MANY WERE THE VETERANS... WEARING MEDALS OF WARS LONG PAST... AND THE YOUNG WERE WEARING UNIFORMS... AS THE COLORS MOVED SLOWLY PAST. THERE WAS IN THE CROWD AND OLD MAN STANDING... HIS LEGS WERE BENT WITH YEARS... BUT THE SIGHT OF OUR PROUD FLAG... TO HIS FADED EYES BROUGHT TEARS. HIS OLD FORM WORN AND TREMBLING... HIS CLOTHES TATTERED AND NOT REGAL... BUT ON HIS BREAST THERE SHINED AN EMBLEM...THE THE ANCHOR, GLOBE AND EAGLE. AND AS THE COLORS PASSED ON BY... HE STOOD THERE STERN AND MUTE... WITH TEARS STREAMING FROM HIS FADED EYES... HE RAISED HIS HAND TO SALUTE. NOW HIS STANCE WAS NOT OF WHAT THEY TEACH ... IN THE MILITARY WAY... HIS FEET MISPLACED AND BACK WAS STOOPED... BUT HE NEVER ONCE DID SWAY. THEN A YOUNG LAD WEARING THE UNIFORM OF A UNITED STATES MARINE... CAME TO THE OLD MAN STANDING THERE... AND SAID SIR YOU'RE CAUSING A SCENE... YOU SEE I MUST TELL YOU NOW... AND MY WORDS YOU MAY REFUTE... BUT YOU MUST NEVER TO OUR FLAG... GIVE A LEFT-HANDED SALUTE. I SEE YOU HAVE THE GLOBE, ANCHOR AND EAGLE THERE UPON YOUR CHEST... AND I QUESTION IF YOU EVER SERVED... WITH WHAT IS AMERICA'S BEST. WE'VE FOUGHT IN EVERY AMERICAN WAR SINCE 1775... AND MARINES HAVE ALWAYS GAVE THEIR ALL...AND THOUSANDS FELL AND DIED. THE OLD MAN LOOKED WITH SHAMEFUL EYES AT THE YOUNG LAD BY HIS SIDE... AND SAID MARINE I REALIZE... YOU MUST THINK I HAVE NO PRIDE. BUT YOU SEE YOUNG MARINE AN OLD MAN HERE... ONE ARMED AND BARELY ALIVE... MY OTHER ARM I LEFT IN THE SAND.... ON IWO JIMA IN '45. MANY WERE MY BUDDIES THAT FELL ON THAT HOT BLACK SAND, AND I MADE A VOW I WOULD NEVER FORGET... THE PRICE THEY PAID FOR OUR GREAT LAND. YES, I TOO WAS A MARINE YOUNG LAD... PERHAPS NOT AS GOOD AS YOU... BUT WE FOUGHT AND DIED THE SAME WAY THEN... FOR THE CORPS, AND THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE. SO DONT JUDGE HARSHLY I BEG OF YOU... THIS OLD MAN IN HIS FINAL DAY...BUT AS A MARINE OF YESTERDAY... PLEASE LET ME MY HOMAGE PAY. YES, LET ME PAY MY RESPECT TO MY BUDDIES... WHO FELL SO LONG AGO... AND AS THE COLORS PASS US BY..PLEASE TRY AND UNDERSTAND ... THE ONLY WAY THAT I CAN SALUTE IS WITH MY OLD LEFT HAND. THE YOUNG MARINE STOOD SILENT... THEN WITH TEARS CLOUDING HIS BRIGHT EYES... HE CAME TO ATTENTION PROUD AND TALL AS THE COLORS PASSED ON BY. HE STOOD THERE AT ATTENTION BESIDE THE OLD MAN BENT AND STOOPED...BUT HE WHISPERED A SOFT "SEMPER FI" AS HE SLOWLY RAISED HIS LEFT HAND IN SALUTE. SEMPER FI TO ALL MARINES, PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE from the pen of cd sliger, usmc 1957-1960 |
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