They smote the enemy hip and
thigh
They dug their trenches, "Here's
mud in your eye!"
They braved the cold, the heat,
the flood,
They blazed the trail with
guts and blood
They sacrificed their life and
limbs
To pacify your fancied whims
They paid the price of freedom's
call
They swallowed the bitter and
the gall
They took for you, the road
to hell
Some of them lived to tell
the tale
"Of gaping wound and searing
pain,
Of counter-attacks in driving
rain,"
"Radar pointing it's finger
of fate,
While gunners fired their tubers
of hate."
I quote a man who knew too
well
The horrors of the pits of
hell
Who saw the gaping jaws of death
Engulfing him with every breath
Whose memories of the war still
burn
Who from this hell did not
return
The nightly vigil, demons cast
Relive again the totured past
This is a deeper hell and strife
Most men will ever know in
life
My deep respect, with honor,
pride
Salutes the men who fought
and died
Who sacrificed their dignity
Who gave their all to keep
us free
Let us not forget the price
Of Freedom's virtues
and its vice;
The vice I speak of, is the
pain
Of the countless wounded, slain
The Navy, Army, Merchant Marine
The Air Force pilot who flew
the machine
The grunt Marines with honor
bound,
Who spilled their guts to hold
their ground
You'll never know the hell they
knew,
So proudly fly that red, white
and blue.
Show the world that honor we
The men who fought to keep
us free
With Deep Respect,
L.A. Sanders
(C) Copyright 2001 L.A. Sanders
