Oh say can you see the rockets red glare,,
The bombs bursting in air…
Can you hear the bombers overhead…
Or the bullets whizzing by,,
Oh can you see,, the enemy tanks everywhere…
Do you feel tyranny and repression everyplace you go,,
Do you see the mushroom clouds a glowing,,
Does the enemy sleep apon your bed,,
Are you made to labor from dawn to dusk under a boiling sun…
Are you carded and herded and shipped to everywhere…
Of course not and neither am I…
For guardians have we,, that let us sleep peacefully thru the night…
Of many shapes,, genders and colors they are,, both young and old…
Apon distant lands must they go…
So that evil will not grow apon this freedoms soil…
And so it has been from the birth and so it shall be until the
Can you see them now?... Among us they walk…
Can you separate them from you or me…
Of course not and neither can I…
For from freedoms bosom they were made,, the same as you and I…
Guardians of our freedoms and liberties they are...
Into the valley of the shadow of death they will go for us…
Apon the land,, in the air,, and over the sea,, and yes even under they be…
Forever guarding,, forever watching,, forever striking against evils forces…
Of many shapes,, genders and colors they be,, both young and old,,
They know of the terrors in the nigh,, of the rockets red glare,,
But they go and stand vigilant every night,, every day and
From them I am given a peaceful sleep,, and apon tomorrow I will
All this and much much more have they given me…
Forever guarding,, forever watching,, they guard my liberties…
No metals do they seek,, no awards,, no monuments do they want…
But we shall give it to them,, and with pompous speeches we shall dedicate…
But for me,, when they come marching home along everymans street,,
I will give them just a salute and a wave,, a welcoming hand,,
and apon a small sign I shall write…
Thank you,, thank you,, guardians of my nights………………………….
DO YOU REMEMBER NOW?.............................
Some would say that today,, or yesterday,, or even tomorrow is the anniversary of the desert war we and our allies are now embroiled in…it is not…this current conflict in the land of the sand people started on just one day,, a clear blue sky day…this war began because a madman,, the lunatic son a wealthy businessman decided a ‘holy jihad’ should be waged against all that do not follow his practice of Islam…
This war will not be over tomorrow or even a couple of months after a new American president is elected…America and its allies will maintain a military base in Iraq long after 95% of the troops we have there now have come home,, not so much to stabilize the region but rather to keep an eye on the other nutsos in the area…For over 60 years the guardians of many nations manned the lookout towers and the bunkers along the divided East and West Europe,, for over 60 years it held a steadfastness and a resolve to finally bring the wall down…And so it will be when the new ‘cold wall’ between Islam and the West finally establishes itself…There are no short term fixes here,, this ‘real life TV show’ will not be over in a half-hour or in an hour,, and then on to reruns of ‘Friends’ as we fall asleep in our beds…
To those of you who say this war is ‘blood for oil’…I say FUCK YOU…Do not ever equate the lives of my brave fearless guardians with the price of anything…Tell me how many barrels of crude is the life of one PFC JONES worth?...
Tell me so I can do the math of the 4000 or so warriors who have already given their last full measure of devotion,, so I can calculate how many times I was able to drive my car to work…or to put it in simpler terms,, how many loafs of bread does a dead Marine buy?...how many cartons of eggs?...
HAVE A GOOD DAY… And when you are sitting there on a park bench watching one of Gods sunsets,, remember that you do not speak German,, Japanese,, or Russian,, because guardians like those of today stood on the line that divides GOOD AND EVIL………………….
4 comments:
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. "
George Orwell was right. ;-)
One of the sadder aspects of having worked for the Department of Defense, more specifically the Department of the Navy and partnering with the Marines and the Army, for almost 30 years before I retired, is that I do know more than one of these stalwart guardians. I know way too many and have mourned the loss of a few (bless the Goddess). By nature a mediator (not quite a pacifist, not quite a warrior), I dedicate my life to research and development to help give our Troops a winning edge, either in equipment or training. And let us not forget the Reserves. Or the Coast Guard. Or firefighters. I have worked with them all and they all have that incredible drive -- to put their lives on the line to protect the lives of people they've never met, do not know, quite possibly would dislike if they did know them, and whose gratitude they do not expect. What an incredible spirit it takes to get up every morning and live your life like that! And how honored I am and have been to call them friends.
Coming from a military family, thanks for posting this.
I live near Ft Leavenworth and a good friend of mine lost her son October 17, 2006 in an IED explosion in Iraq.
.... and some gave all.
They sure did.
-Peace-
Excellent post, love your last paragraph, sums it up nicely.
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