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Is, “Thank You!” Near Enough?

We need to thank all those Vets
In the Service of me and you
Not nearly, enough credit given
For, all of those things they do.

They leave loved ones here at home
And are gone, for months on end
Never knowing if, they will return
Or, what danger lay, around the bend.

They face the dangers caused by war
They see the horror and heartbreak
Of their Comrades killed or wounded
Where death can come from, one mistake.

They go to places round the World
Most of us will never (or want to) see
They go there and do the dirty work
In far-off countries, across the sea.

The Army, Air Force, and the Navy
And the United States Marine Corp
Serving in the name of our Nation
To open, or keep open, Freedom’s door.

They sleep upon the cold hard ground
And sweat through the heat of day
With the sand and bullets flying
Or some booby trap along their way.

Sometimes, they must try to make do
With equipment that’s not good enough
Buy their own, flak jackets and armor
That are made, of the right stuff.

We should never send them off to war
Unless we give them, the very best
But even so, with what they have
They will always seem, to pass the test.

We shouldn’t keep them over there
Any longer, than we tell them, we will
And we shouldn’t keep sending them back
After we know, they have had their fill.

And other promises that we make
Should be kept, no matter the cost
And we should help them find their way
When they return home and feel so lost.

We should never make them suffer
With experiments from our own side
And then, deny that we ever did it
Like Agent Orange! Where is our pride?

Seems we are always in some war
And always send our best young to fight
Maybe, if we sent the oldest first
We just might, finally see the light!

Every citizen should serve some time
In some kind of service or, another
If every family had a member, “in”
Instead of war, I bet we’d find some other.

So when you see one in a Uniform
Just take a moment, tell them, “Thanks!”
To let them know, we really care about
All those proudly serving, in the Ranks.



Del “Abe” Jones
08.08.08