Lest We Forget
Soldier
There is discipline in a soldier
you can see it when he walks,
There is honor in a soldier
you hear it when he talks.
There is courage in a soldier
you can see it in his eyes,
There is loyalty in a soldier
that he will not compromise.
There is something in a soldier
that makes him stand apart,
There is strength in a soldier
that beats from his heart.
A soldier isn't a title any man
can be hired to do,
A soldier is the soul of that man
buried deep inside of you.
A soldier's job isn't finished after
an 8 hour day or a 40 hour week,
A soldier is always a soldier
even while he sleeps.
A soldier serves his country first
and his life is left behind,
A soldier has to sacrifice what
comes first in a civilian's mind.
If you are civilian -
I am saying this to you.....
next time you see a soldier
remember what they do.
A soldier is the reason our land
is '
Home of the free',
A soldier is the one that is brave
protecting you and me.
If you are a soldier -
I am saying this to you.....
Thank god for every soldier
Thank god for what you do
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the
young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed..All through the night the
young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward,holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
"Who was that man?" he asked.
The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.
"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."
"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"
"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed." I came here tonight to find a Mr. William
Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman's name?
The Nurse with tears in her eyes answered, Mr. William
Grey.............
The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.
I am a soldier.
My blood permeates the soil of many countries.
... I have gasped my last breath on many a desolate
stretch of beach. For you...all of you, the children
who play in the parks, the mothers who watch over them,
the fathers who struggle to sustain them.
There are those here who have belittled and reviled me,
who have made a mockery of me and what I stand for.
You, also, have I suffered and died for.
I withstood heat, insects and disease
So the right to dissent would be yours.
I endured the pain and terror of battle and the maiming
of my body to ensure that you might worship as
you please. I died in agony in order that you,
no matter who or what you are,
Have the freedom to choose your own destinies.
AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN
because I believe in the ideals that made this country
what it is today... FREE.
I love her with a deep and abiding love
that transcends mere physical pain.
I AM A SOLDIER.
Pray that I will always be there,
for if I disappear from this country, so will you.