"Just A Common Soldier"
written by Billadu
Sent in by Candi Botner"

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 had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies, they were heroes, everyone.

And tho' sometimes to his neighbors his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer, for old Bill has passed away;
And the world's a little poorer, for a Soldier died today.

He'll not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way.
And the world won't note his passing, though a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
And thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Newspapers tell their life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a simple Soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land,
A person who breaks promises 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?

It's so easy to forget them, for it so long ago,
That the "Old Bills" of our country went to battle, but we know.
It was not the politicians, with their compromises and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our country now enjoys.

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, then we find the Soldier's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles that others often start.

If we can not give 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 a simple notice in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, "cause a Soldier passed away."

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Eternal Truce - A Holiday Wish
Written by Christina Sharik

Let the cannon be unused -
rusted, and shrouded in
clouds of snow -
Let the bullets be unfired -
relics of the long ago -
Let the stretchers be unborne
and the cries of the wounded
be unknown
Let the nurses all stay home.
Let the widows all unwail
and the mighty ships of war unsail.
Let the bullets be unused
and the cannons be unfired -
Let the stretchers be unborne,
and the barbed wire fences
come unwired.
Let the Wars be all unfought -
and the Art of War be all untaught -
Let the Poets have empty pages -
Let there be Peace throughout
the Ages.

Christina 12-00
ArmyMom
ArmyMom's Safe Haven-Vietnam Tributes and Poetry

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