A soldier's silent night

[Big Duke Six]

Just wanted to share this website during this holiday season.....

http://tankmastergunner.com/silent night.htm

 

[Black Adder LXX]

Good stuff...

A Soldier's Silent Night

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY;

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

 

[oneshooter]

Kinda says it all.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[MSgt B]

Day after day we sweat on runways
Which beats being wet and cold
Day after day, we tend to the birds
Who visit and feed but won't stay

We gas them up and we oil them well
We patch their holes and wounds
Twelve hours a day we labor away
Loading fuel, torpedoes and shells

Like dutiful wives, we tend to the guys
Men who daily fly into hell
Gaining the glory and catching flak
Which we cure, if they come back

Day after day, we sweat on runways
Breath abated when planes belly-land
Working like demons twelve hours a day
While others get glory and praise

We lift heavy ordnance, gas and supplies
Working hands to the bone sometimes
Glory goes to those who merit it most
Men who shed their blood in the skies

What we get for the years of back-breaking toil?
In trade for our lives we get treasure quite royal
Words from pilots returning from SAM-seared skies
Saying: "Your work brought us home!"

Oleg Volk

 

[scout26]

Supporting the Three

I am the Infantry, follow me
Not a foot soldier, we're much more you see
We'll take the fight to the enemy
I am the Infantry, first of THE THREE

I am the Calvary, follow me
A modern horse soldier in an APC
Charging straight forward to the enemy
I am the Cav, most daring of THE THREE

I am the Armor, follow me
The arm of decision I'll always be
When the going gets rough, call on me
I am the Armor, the best of THE THREE

Armor, Cav and Infantry
Rush headlong into the melee
Breaking the lines like an angry sea
Deep into enemy territory

Approaching a crossroads, what do we see
The area secured by two lonely MP's
Directing us forward, how can this be ?
How long has he been here waiting for me ?

What a crazy person an MP must be
He has no firepower or armor like me
And I thought everyone followed THE THREE
Armor, Cav and Infantry

I am the MP, don't follow me
You don't want to be where I will be
Guarding a crossroad, waiting for THE THREE
Just my partner, a sixteen, a sixty and me

With the objective taken, wait and see
No one will remember the lonely MP
Who held this ground so they could run free
But that's my job, supporting THE THREE


By Sgt. Allan L. Perkins, USA MP

 

[Grizzly Adams]

May God Bless all our military where ever they are and keep them safe and bring them back home to their loved ones!

Sorry. I know this violates the religious rules but I had to say it!

 

[Jeff White]

Very touching, but off topic.

Jeff