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I Was There. . .
Veteran's
Day it seems to me, Might become another day Another holiday so-to-speak A day off work with pay Sadly also I suspect That given the present "war" That when the final battle is fought We'll never know what for? Regardless the situation Be the motives wrong or right Ofttimes it's the young that's asked To fight the current fight Yet my missive is neither protest Or critical of current events It's merely written to share my thoughts Of a time most recently spent I was there when the fallen soldier Was finally laid to rest I stood there in that graveyard As the sun raced toward the west The solder who lay before us Had come from a little town, And of all whom came to pay respect Not a dry eye could be found A color guard was present Flags flapped there in the breeze, Soldiers saluted smartly, Then stood silently at ease The chaplain gave a reverent farewell To a comrade he'd never known, And though a multitude was gathered Each felt quite alone The color guard moved toward the cask And stood on either side, The bugler then took up his post With purpose and with pride Riflemen then took their posts And upon command did they Fire equal volleys totaling three Which pierced the calm of day White gloved hands took up the flag That lay on the coffin there, The bugler then did poise himself And notes then filled the air The sounds of Taps were mournful And everything stood still, Though the day was very balmy The notes did cause a chill As the notes echoed in the distance The flag now neatly creased, Was presented to the next-of-kin When the bugler's play had ceased I remembered the fallen soldier Once strong and very tall, Proud, brave and honored Who'd answered duty's call I thought of others like him Who had fallen on foreign lands, Those that died in shallow foxholes Or upon the coastal sands I thought of pilots shot down Of sailors buried at sea, Of unknowns resting in Arlington Who kept our nation free I thought of all the families And interrupted lives Of all the telegrams which were sent To mothers and to wives I thought of all the children That never came to be, And realized that freedom Is something that's not free So when Veteran's Day next comes around Take pause in your busy life Remember those who sacrificed And gave all with their life And whatever you might be thinking About what I've had to say, Remember this if nothing else . . . A soldier will be buried today Ray
E. Kauer 11-14-03 The above was sent to
me by my brother. I noticed his signature below the poem. I asked him if he had
written it and told him it was very good. He replied: Yes
I did and thank you. Now I'll share why. The morning of Nov 11th, the 6:00 a.m.
TV news led with the number of soldier's killed in Iraq the previous day. Also, and on Nov 11th, nearly every
government agency was closed (local/state and federal courts, city halls and so
on). It dawned on me that perhaps the majority of those that did not have the
day off might possibly be veterans. (I think a study on that should be done). That night, the paper's front-page
headline concerned Dow and other issues. Though it carried some articles about
veterans, those articles it seemed were there because they would be expected. In September, I had attended the
funeral of the father of a friend. His father was WWII veteran. (WWII vets are
dying at a rate of 12,000 per day). So....after reflecting about the events of
Nov 11th, coupled with the memory of the funeral I had attended (and others like
it)....and given the mortality rate of veterans .....those issues festered and
boiled to the point of inspiration and hence.....the poem. I understand that I over-answered your
question but.....as Paul Harvey often said: "...now you know the rest of the
story..." I have always respected him and have been proud to call him my brother. I didn’t know that he had the skill and passion to write a poem like the above. It truly speaks to one's heart. I am more proud of him than ever. Return to #top Return to Lynn's Korner |
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