Military Tribute

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USAF -1970-1978,

USAFR - 1978-1979                                               USNR - 1979 -1981                                     USAR - 1984-1998
Lackland AFB, TX- 1970                                         Winston-Salem, NC 1979-1980                     Bloomsburg, PA 1984 - 1987
Lowry AFB. CO - 1971                                           Greensboro, NC      1980-1981                     Clemson, SC    1987 - 1989
Dover AFB, DE -1971 - 1973                                                                                                   Columbia, SC   1989 - 1990
Thessaloniki, Greece - 1971                                                                                                   Ft. Worth, TX    1990 - 1996
Udorn Royal Thai AFB - 1973 - 1974                                                                                        Seagoville, TX  1996- 1998
Dover AFB, DE - 1974 - 1978
Frankfurt, Germany - 1975
Pope AFB, NC - 1978 - 1979

As you can tell from the above I spent a few years in the military. I have written some poetry on the military life and share them here as a tribute to my brothers-in-arms.

Oct 14, 1970 Thunder

The thunder claps like

Cannon blasts landing in a

Peasant's rice paddy.

Nov 8, 1970 Air Force Blues I

As tears fall, I sit

Needing two arms that are two

Thousand miles away.

Nov 8, 1970 Air Force Blues II

Dreaming of Karen,

Absent from my arms, I weep

Lonely tears of love.

Nov 8, 1970 Eternal Sentry

My heart and soul will

Guard you through the night when my

Arms and lips cannot.

Nov 8, 1970(0530) Air Force Blues III

Here on guard at this lonely post

I think of and long for the one I love most!

It will be less than a month now, maybe,

Until, I see the one who carries our baby!

I wake up nights whispering her name.

Life without her is a losing game.

My body stands here on guard prepared to fight.

My heart and soul are with her tonight.

I wonder if she is getting her rest

And praying to God that she will be blest.

I see her face when I lie in my lonely room.

The wind surrounds me with the scent of her perfume.

To go home to her would cure these Air Force Blues.

Unfortunately, I must follow the rules.

So until I am able to hold you so tight,

I must bid you, My Darling, a sweet good night.

FEB 24, 1971 The Married Soldier's Blues

Hey, Mr. Nixon, if your military is going to take the married man,

Why don't you do something to give the guy a hand?

If he is sent overseas, he is placed in a position, where there is no way

To bring his family near him without the costs totaling more than his pay!

When he makes Sergeant, you give him a place on base that's not so up to date!

Because of the cloth on his sleeve, even these a recruit does not rate!

You spend millions of dollars shooting tin into space

And on a war that is losing rather than saving our face!

Do you think you could cut down on your great races and wars?

Could you build some decent quarters for guys who love their wives as you do yours?

Give us a dime raise and you raise taxes fifteen cents more,

However, as patriots we are not supposed to get sore!

I believe that I have got my idea through.

Now, Tricky Dick, it is up to you!

Are you going to take your famous middle of the road stand

Or finally break down and give your troops a hand?

Nov 2, 1971 Ode To Bench Stock or Delivery On A Rainy Day

Have no fear for Bench Stock was here.

Even though we were really dripping

And your property was slightly ripping.

And now we must sadly depart

Not leaving you one good part.

If items you would like to lose some more,

Just call extension two four.

May 24, 1972 The Unanswered Query

Alone he laid dying

From the wound in his chest.

Before him his life was flying,

The joys, sorrows and all the rest.

He heard his wife softly calling:

Calling him to her side.

Thousands of shells were falling

But, with a smile he died.

His funeral was ending.

The hero was laid to rest.

His widow's knees were bending.

Voices were echoing his best.

As the mourners start to go,

His son runs to the grave site,

And says "I must ask. I must know.

Has your death made everything right?"

May 24, 1972 One White Rose

On the day that he wed,

He gave her one white rose.

She placed it by their bed

Where, they laid in passion's throes.

When she bore their first child

He gave her one white rose.

It was pure and it was wild

Just the way that their love grows.

Before he said goodbye,

He gave her one white rose

And, he told her not to cry

For his love is where she goes.

Before she parted from his grave,

She gave him one white rose.

His memory was all she could save

From the hundreds of crosses in hundreds of rows.

May 25, 1972 Captain John West 1-2-70

Inscription

On a copper band.

The name of a brother

In enemy land.

I know nothing

About you or your kin

Nor anything about in which

Part of Hell you have been.

I jockey a truck

Not far from my home,

While you bravely face

Your ordeal alone.

While thousands of miles separate us

And to others you are only a name,

I feel a bond of brotherhood

Between us just the same.

For my mind and heart

Shall not rest till the day

You are returned to your loved ones

And this band is stowed away.

April 14, 1976 A Statistic's Prayer

I did not believe in war

However, my life is no more!

I was downed by a shell running wild!

I left behind a wife and child

They sent her the medal from my chest

And laid me beneath the ground to rest.

They told her but, she could not see

That I had died to keep lands free.

At night, she cries and calls my name.

The child in her womb mourns the same.

Years have passed and my son has grown

And now has a wife and child of his own.

He goes to war, as did I.

Is it his turn to also die?

How many bodies will lie upon foreign ground

Before Man realizes his ignorance and turns around?

Their souls in Hell will surely burn,

If Mankind soon does not learn

That to stop blood spilling upon the land

Christ must rule the heart of every man.

Dear Lord, end this madness, so no more of my brood

Will meet their end by a means so crude!

Pour Thy wrath upon this sinful show

So widows' and orphans' tears no longer flow.

June 5, 1978 What Is An Outstanding Supervisor?

To completely describe a superior boss,

I cannot find appropriate words. I am at a loss.

There is at least one thing that is certainly clear.

There is none better than the one we honor here.

He is not a mother hen or a worry wart

Nor does he try your goals to thwart.

When you need him, he is a willing ear.

When you can handle it, he stands clear.

He is not a tyrant, oppressive, or downright mean.

He just runs his shop like a well oiled machine.

He will stand by you when you are wrong or right

And makes you feel like you are special in his sight.

Yes, he is just a man, but a leader of men

And, we will not see one like him ever again.

Time moves on and we all shall depart,

But, Mel, forever you will hold an honored place in our heart.

Dedicated to SMSGT Melvin Harper, USAF

July 4, 1987 America's Victory

San Juan Hill, Ardennes, Iwo Jima, Pork Chop Hill, The Tet,

From mounted horse and saber, to A bomb and supersonic jet.

Our country's freedom has been challenged time and again.

Many seas and lands have been bloodied by patriotic men.

The sometimes tattered but cherished cloth of stars and bars,

Symbolizes the firm belief that the people rule, not Kings or Czars!

From the shot heard round the world of Concord's ragged band

To the steamy unpopular jungles of South Viet Nam's land.

Each time tyranny knocked at the Republic's wall,

Thousands have risen to answer Freedom's call.

Though often from those brave men life itself was torn,

They knew that it was better to die free than live under slavery's scorn.

Yet, who has really won the glorious victories of this land?

They were men of prayer and faith with Bibles in their hands.

While men of duty are needed and the desire to be free,

There is no true freedom save at the foot of Calvary's tree.

Soldiers will falter and weapons will fail.

Only faith in Christ will weather every gale.

Oh, America, Land that I love, may it ever be said of thee

That you're a nation under God, then forever you will be free!

For those who do not know, cadences are little ditties we sang in Boot Camp or when we were doing physical training to keep our minds occupied so the pain wouldn't be felt as bad. ;-) Yes, they are war songs. After all, we weren't in the Boy Scouts so the themes here should not seem out of place.

May 21, 1989 Cadences

I don't need my Dad or Mommie,

To go out and kill a Commie.

If he wears a star of red,

He'll look better when he's dead.

We don't mind another war,

Even in El Salvador.

We're willing to fight, die and bleed,

So others can be freed.

If I die in old Iran,

At least I kicked the Ayatollah's can.

Bury me beneath the sod,

Commit my soul to a righteous God.

You may be mentally able and physically fit,

But if you aren't Admin, you're a twit!

Viet Nam or Lebanon

It's all the same when you're dead and gone.

I'll be proud when I'm laid to rest

Because I know did my best.

Come on take me, I'm ready to go

To drop a bomb on Gromyko!

And while that bomber is aloft

Let's send a few to Andropov!

If you're that kind of fellow,

Who's back is made of solid yellow.

You're nothing, but a fly

Who lives off us who proudly die!

I'm not a Marine, cause I am mean,

But because I'm the best! Yes, I'm the cream!

If you're afraid to spill some blood.

Join some other branch! Do you hear me, Bud?

Dec 24, 1990 Cadences II

If I die in Baghdad, Iraq,

At least I broke old Saddam's back!

He took Kuwait and hogged the oil

And made the nations' blood to boil!

He's taken many an innocent life.

It's time to make a widow of his wife.

Ten thousand miles ain't too far to travel,

When the time is right to smoke a camel!

CHAPLAIN CADENCE

John 3:16 promises a heavenly trip

If I believe on him with my heart and my lip.

Gonna take my Bible in my hand

And start my trip towards the Promised Land.

The Cross before me and the world behind.

Gonna take the Gospel to all mankind.

Jesus, Jesus I believe

That for my sins you did bleed.

When the Devil tells me there's a sin I need

I fall on my knees, God's power to receive.

Hey, Hey, all the way!

Live for Jesus everyday!

I like tea. I like coffee.

I like shooting at Khadaffy.

My greatest joy when I awake

Is firing a missile at that old flake.

Awake, O Khadaffy, arise and see

The bombers over Tripoli,

Hang on to your silver chalice

'Cause we're bombing the royal palace.

January 29, 2005 He Has Fallen

Young Marine Bobby lies still.

His war is over, yet he

Lives in honor in our hearts.

(In honor of Cpl. Robert P. Warns, II of Waukesha, WI, who finished his duty 8 Nov 04 in Iraq) SEMPER FI!!!!

How Was Your Day?

Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.

He stays up for days on end.
_________________________

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

He goes days or weeks without running water.
__________________________

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
__________________________

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.

He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
__________________________

You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket. !

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
__________________________

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
______ ____________________

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
__________________________

You complain about how hot it is.

He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
__________________________

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He doesn't get to eat today.
__________________________

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
__________________________

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
__________________________

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
__________________________

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
__________________________

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
__________________________

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet
__________________________

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
__________________________

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.

He hears the gunfire, bombs, and screams of the wounded.
__________________________

You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
__________________________

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does exactly what he is told.
__________________________

You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
__________________________

You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.

He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5-minute nap, only to be woken by gunfire.
__________________________

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.

If only there were more men like him!

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Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ
and the American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. - Author unknown