I gentleman I work with who retired from the US Navy wrote this. His intent isThe Warriors
They are fallen, bloody and broken, burned and torn. Lost to their families,
remembered by few. One by one, they rise from the cold, gore soaked soil.
Whole again, standing proud, marching forward into eternity.
Passing me by, they turn and speak to me. "Mourn me, brother. For in mourning
my passing, you can pay me no finer honor." They continue on their way. Forever
Passing by where I wait.
From Lexington, New Orleans, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Flanders Field, Anzio,
Chosin Reservoir, Hue, Beirut, Kabul, Baghdad and into the haze of time to
come, they continue to march forward to their glory. They speak in voices only I can hear.
"Our deaths were not in vain! We are the Warriors. We are the ones who answered
our Country's call. We did not ask if the cause was just. We only knew we must heed
the drumming tattoo of the call to arms! We answered as best we could. We paid the
price. We made the sacrifice. We would answer again, the bugle calls, if such were in
our power. We would line up to march again, knowing that death awaits us. We would
not and could not ask why. Our Nation called and we came because we are the
Warriors!"
They pass on, this host most proud. All creeds, all colors, short and tall, man
and woman. They march in parade past me, each eye conveying but one message. "Do
not forget the Warriors! Remember our sacrifices. A politician did not give you the right
to assemble — a Warrior did. A clergyman did not give you the right to worship in your
way — a Warrior did. A teacher did not give you the right to an education — a Warrior
did. All your privileges that you enjoy as an American were earned by the sacrifices of
Warriors."
"Remember, as you walk the hallowed grounds of our earthly resting place or visit the
shrines of our nation, that the young must be taught about us. About us, the "silent"
Warriors and about the living Warriors that work, play and live all around us. The
living are Warriors also and must be given due respect. We laid down our lives for our
country. Our living brothers would give their lives if duty called. We are all of one
brotherhood."
"We are the Warriors." Dave Smith—May 2007
DeleteReplyForwardSpamMove… to thank those who have served.
