Eulogy for a Soldier

We revere our soldiers far too little for all they gave for their country. I pray for a day when good men do not have to line up for wars created by the rich and powerful. Rich men line their pockets during wars, while the ordinary people make the sacrifices, and good men give their lives.  I've been watching The Pacific on HBO, the story of our soldiers fighting in the Pacific regions during WWII.  As long as greed and power lust rule the leaders, and the ordinary folks continue to vote for them, we will have wars. Sad but true.

OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING A Poem worth reading!   He was getting old and paunchy  And his hair was falling fast,  And he sat around the Legion,  Telling stories of the past.  Of a war that he once fought in  And the deeds that he had done,  In his exploits with his buddies;  They were heroes, every one.  And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors  His tales became a joke,  All his buddies listened quietly  For they knew where of 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,  Going quietly 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?  Or the ordinary fellow  Who in times of war and strife,  Goes off to serve his country  And offers up his life?  The politician's stipend  And the style in which he lives,  Are often disproportionate,  To the service that he gives.  While the ordinary Soldier,  Who offered up his all,  Is paid off with a medal  And perhaps a pension, small. It's so easy to forget them,  For it is so many times  That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,  Went to battle, but we know,  It is 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--  His home, his country, his kin,  Just a common Soldier,  Who would fight until the end.  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,  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,  A SOLDIER DIED TODAY." Pass On The Patriotism!  YOU can make a difference      A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable 'To My Country' for an amount "up to and including my life."  That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.