Is the Silver Star tarnished in its case?
And its ribbon lost its brilliant hues?
Given so long ago
For devotion to duty
And for brave acts that few can match

Have their faces faded from your memory?
Or do you remember them still?
Sweating and dirty in the midst of smoke and shell
Hollow eyed with whiskered chins
Trying to survive the fight!

Has their laughter been silenced?
And their swagger replaced by a limp?
Did the scars of war
Cut into youthful sinew and marrow
And scuttle the hope of a pain free life?

Yes, the strength of youth may be gone
And the medals lost some of their gleam
But this day the bugle’s strain
Awakens us, as in that former time
When, under our nation’s colors, we served.

Once more the anthem lifts our spirits
As it did then
When our country’s uniforms were cloaks of honor
And the pride of duty filled our hearts
Brothers and sisters united and forever free!

Friends, do not mourn the passage of time
Or for those who here sleep the eternal sleep
They have their reward
And we have this, our great nation
Purchased by their untarnished honor