I watched the flag pass by one day
It fluttered in the breeze
A young marine saluted it
… … And then he stood at ease
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd
I wondered how many men like him
Have fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many Mother’s tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, Freedom is not Free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill
I wondered just how many times
Taps had meant “Amen”
When a flag had covered a coffin
Of a brother or a friend
I thought of all the children
of the Mothers and the Wives
Of Fathers, Sons, and Husbands
With interrupted lives
And I thought about the graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington
No, Freedom is not Free.
written by Kelly Strong
I woke up this morning (at around 2 a.m.) with my head full of another thought. I lay awake in bed thinking out an entire blog post, and it had nothing to do with Veteran’s Day. It had to do with me thinking people are sheep (look forward to that one!) and then I thought more on it and realized I would just be one in the “heard” if I posted about something so selfish. I read a poem (above) that a friend posted on Facebook, and I found it much more appropriate for today. I have family and friends that have served and are serving our country. I am proud to know (or have known) them and support troops far and wide for their sacrifices.
Perhaps today we could look past the “drama” and silliness of our own lives, and the lives of those the media force-feed on us, and spend a little time to reflect on what it truly means to be in the service, to give your all, to be an American. In today’s world, it is hard to see the positive in our daily lives. That does not mean we should be miserable, that we should live without honor. The idea of “paying it forward” is something that any service person has actually lived out and not only do we take that for granted, we take our own freedoms and lifestyles for granted. I may not have a lot in this world, but what I have is mine, and I am grateful.
I am grateful for all those that are willing to put everything they have on the line for myself, for my family, for my freedoms.