Cecil Angus Broome Jr (SSG/ARMY)
Sep 05,1933 to May 26, 1966

by Henry B Stevens
04/22/2004

Cecil, we never learned
a goddammed thing.
Today's headlines are
about increasing troop strength

Only this time Iraq
instead of Vietnam.
But all the body bags
stink the same.

"May 26, 1966 hostile
ground casualty
gun small arms fire
Body was recovered"

"Panel 07E--Line 110",
but your homecoming
to Lancaster NH was
the biggest event in years.

Cecil, we're still led
by hyprocites.
Nixon promised
to end the war with honor.

In 1968 he spoke at
Grinell School, Derry NH
where I listened and
later voted for him.

He tricked us all,
no peace instead
napalm-cremating people alive
and destroying villages to save them.

Then the invasion of Cambodia
massive bombing
followed by withdrawal
leaving our allies to be massascred.

Now we have Iraq-nam
a high tech war.
No civilian casulaties are counted,
No body bags are met at Dover AFB

We're in this war for reasons
as ephemeral as Bay of Tonkin
But this time g-d is on our
side and W is his spokesman.

What we were told was there
isn't there and it looked like
oil might have been the ace
but no, 'tis a Christain endeavor.

Cecil, you are safe now
on that long black wall
while humanity waits
patiently for the hit you took.