Memorial Day

Let us now pause awhile then
to honor those gallant men,
two centuries worth of ghosts
who gave the U.S. their most.
They all bravely fought and died,
to save our freedoms their prize.

At Bunker Hill, New Orleans,
The Alamo, Fredericksburg,
Gettysburg, Chickamauga,
San Juan Hill, Argonne Forest,
Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal,
Bastogne, Inchon, at Khe Sanh,
Saigon, Kuwait City, then
Baghdad…plus so many more.

These courageous soldiers went
for country; their lives were spent
to protect us – you and me –
and generations to be.
This long, long line of the dead
yet grows; today soldiers bled.

In Iraq, our soldiers fight.
They die; we debate what’s right.
On ships, in planes, in Humvees,
or afoot, how bravely these
warriors do wage war. They serve.
What great honor they deserve!


© Copyright 2007 Harry Gilleland