After seeing various posts supporting all of out troops going into harms way, I pulled out a couple of things from my archives. It is mostly for the Vietnam era guys, but a number of the new kids are facing the same type thing.

The week before last, we had the 1/2 scale exact replica of the Vietnam Memorial
in the area for a few days. The "Wall That Heals" as it is called, travels
across the nation to speak, not only of the loss, but of the lives of the 58,200
odd men and women inscribed. I met a lady there. We both approached the wall
with apprehension, dread, or I think a feeling of not knowing what to expect
after 30 odd years of trying to forget. I looked at a number of names, touched
them, and said hello to friends that in turn, touched back through that black
surface after all these years and told me there was no need to be sorry. As I
was leaving, and trying hard to maintain the hard, cold, macho image that all of
us are supposed to show, I noticed that the lady had stayed in front of one of
the panels for the entire time I was there. She looked up from the panel and ask
if I would walk with her back to the parking lot. As we walked, we talked a bit
of the memories of those names we saw. We sat at a bench and cried, me for crew,
friends, buddies, she for a husband that she was with for only 3 days before he
shipped out. A lot of hurt fell on the ground that day, not all of it, because
it will never leave till we die, but much of the bitterness is now gone.
Lady, REFLECTIONS is dedicated to you.


REFLECTIONS

You look quite handsome today.
There in your dress uniform, your brass gleaming in the sun.
I admire the devilish merriment that is always present in your eyes, with a hint of the fire and passion in your soul.
Your lips are curled as always in an impish grin, just seconds from laughter. Your shoulders are broad....broad enough to rest my head and my heart.
And that same lock of hair is again curling onto your forehead.
I reach out to touch your face, anticipating the warmth of your kiss and the strength of your embrace, to put my fingers through your hair.
I reach out.............
But my fingers touch only cold smooth glass, a hard wooden frame, and letters -
etched in warm black stone.


THE WALL OF HONOR

by Roger Heard, USMC '66-'70

Upon this honored wall of stone
You're together again and not alone
Together you laughed, together you cried
Together you fought, together you died
Together you stand in history
Upon this wall for all to see
Each name evokes a young man's face
A warrior that stood to take his place
To fight and die for liberty
So others could live a life that's free
If there's a place where Heroes stand
Surely you've gone to join their band
You've left the horrors of war behind
To cross death's bridge and hopefully find
The peace denied you in this life
Of endless wars and constant strife
Together you walk with head held high
No storm clouds gather to darken your sky
The Black Man, Red Man, Brown, and White
Will walk as one, no more to fight
You're not forgotten and will never be
This stone bears witness for all to see
Each one of you made the sacrifice
And paid with life, the ultimate price
Each one who died left a few of us here
To show the world with a fallen tear
We'll never forget and will always stand true
To the memory of each one of you
As long as there's life within my breast
I'll take my place and stand with the rest
And when it's my time to leave this land
I hope you'll welcome me to your Heroes' band.


HELLO, MY BROTHER

by Dee Kosier

Hello, my brother.
You're having another bad day.
You don't have to say anything.
I can tell by the grim lines around your mouth and the thousand yard stare in your eyes that is only momentarily replaced by fleeting seconds of terror.
Your hands are trembling.
I know what demons you are fleeing, what awful horrors you are reliving
.....over and over again.....
Although I was not there, and retelling is not the same, you have shared
your terrors with me.
I know what you dream for I dream your dreams.
Your nightmares have become my own.
I don't fear the horrors of the dreams.
My terror comes from being so inadequate to quell your pain.
I don't know the words to take away what you are feeling.
I can find no special balm to ease the raw pain of your emotions.
Although my dreams start as yours, they always end as my own.
As I try to put my arms around you and your brothers and sisters to comfort and shelter you and ease your pain, but there are too many of you and my embrace cannot hold you all.
And my terror lies in failing you.
And in my dreams I see the faces of those who could bear it no longer, my friends I was helpless to help.
Jon, who used a shotgun to end his pain.
Derek, living forever lost in the nebulous world of the committed insane.
Frank, dying of liver failure from his escape into a bottle.
But we must remember, my brother, that this is now.
We are both hurting and must try to help each other.
That war is over, forgotten never, but over nonetheless.
Things that happened then are of the past.
Done.
Completed.
A far cry from the Sunday School lessons of our youth, but necessary all the same.
And NOTHING, NOTHING you could tell me of things that happened then will change my feelings for you now.
I accept you as you accept me.
Imperfect beings trying to do the right thing in a world where right and wrong are inextricably twisted together.
I am here now.
Sit here beside me.
Take my hand, my comfort, my acceptance, my respect, my love.
You are home, brother, and you are safe.

God Bless you guys, come home safe.

anoldphartrememberingShortround out

 

I had the honor of being asked to pull an 18 hour stint when the traveling wall came to our base one year. We helped the general public find names and talked with some of the vets after their visit. It was a long night, but well worth it and if asked again, would do so in a heartbeat.

For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to visit the wall, do so. It's an experience you'll never forget.

 

I thank you Shortround for that moment of reflection. The wall has engraved upon it the names of 2 cousins and 3 friends big brothers that i grew up with. I shall never forget...........

Gary

 

Bravo Zula Shortround

 

Thank you Shortround.

Whatever you do, please don't try to forget. Tell you stories to your children, grandchildren, friends, etc. For these stories a soldier will never die.

Semper Fi

MikeyB

 

In my prayers I hope that those people that gave their lives to ensure our rights and freedoms will always be our highest symbol of heroism.
To walk among the names on the wall is not something I can do easily sometimes the guilt of my return (from Vietnam) is overwhelming and the question of why them and not me gnaws on me. Making the best of your life and freedom honors those that gave their life to defend that right.

 

If those people who died actually lived and 58,000 other people died, those people would also be asking, "Why didn't I die instead?" War is a sacrifice. A gamble. It's not really a question of WHO died. More a question of "what was accomplished." Every war the U.S. has fought was fought because our gov't felt threatened in some way. OUR way of life was threatened by the spread of Communism through Vietnam. It was felt that if the Reds spread into any more countries they would have a better chance of invading the U.S. Some people refuse to believe that. Yet, everybody is quick to say Hitler was evil. And I say, any country who encourages and funds a war for the greater benefit of their own government's influence (Vietnam War) is evil.

Anybody you know who died in Vietnam, or any war, died so that you and I can enjoy the benefits we have in this country. Whether it's you, me, or the other guy, somebody will die. It's a roll of the dice w/ all those bullets, bombs and missles flying. You can't blame yourself. Everbody's scared and everybody has accidents in a war. It's hard to know exactly what the enemy is going to do.

I'm not saying you should be happy about losing a friend or relative. But I am saying you're not being fair to yourself by asking yourself, "Why not me?" It just wasn't your time. That's all life is...borrowed time. I could die of a heart attack tomorrow...I don't know. I could die at 80 yrs old. I could be shot by some druggie who thinks I owe him money, but I'm the wrong guy.

Make the MOST of your life 'cause you don't know when your time will come. That's what your fallen relatives and friends would want you to do. They know how short life is. Go out there and live it!

 

[

For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to visit the wall, do so. It's an experience you'll never forget. [/B][/QUOTE]

You are right it is a moving experience. I was not in Nam. (To young) and by the time I was of the right age the draft was over. So never joined but when I was in DC I went to visit the wall. Its a very somber thing, but also gives me the chills. God bless them all. The dead and the living .

 

The first time I visited the moving wall was about 10 years ago. I was told were I could find names of the men I had served with. I stared looking but I couldn't handle it. The sheer number of names was too much for me. I had to leave. To hear the number 58,200 doesn't effect you the way actually seeing all the names (persons) does.

I visited the wall in DC last year. I had come to terms with it and was able to stay and look for names.

We must stand behind the men and women who are on the front line now. GOD BLESS THEM ALL!!!

 

It sure is amazing. It took me about 10-15 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and that's at a normal pace.

It's also amazing how liberals can protest the Iraq war saying there are so many people being killed every week...HA! How soon they forget!

 

It is through the blood of heroes that they are even able to protest openly....

We are free in this country to burn our very own flag.... I wouldn't have it any other way.

I just don't understand (maybe because I am only 23) how we are the only country that has a waiting list to get citizenship... yet there are countless people who will not support 'our' decision to fight and stand for what is right. They say the deaths are unacceptable... yet they are able to say that because soldiers have given their lives to make us free.

I for one think it is a tragedy when one of our soldier dont come home..... a human life is a terrible loss. Their families have to deal with it for the rest of their lives. God bless those who have fallen, and may He spare the families any more hurt.... they have seen enough. They also have sacrificed greatly for the rest of us to enjoy what we take for granted every day.

I for one thank our troops every day... without them we would not be the USA. My heart and prayers go out to those who have fallen.... and I pray for those who are over there willing to fall for this great nation.

THANK YOU ALL....... I wish I could say more.. but alas I still dont have the words to reflect what my heart is saying.

God Bless
Mark