They stood in the rain
On a soggy spring day
Saying goodbye
As loved ones,
Husbands, wives,
Sons and daughters,
Departed for
The arid Middle East.
Tiny hands
Waved tiny flags
As they watched
Uncomprehending
The parade
Of camouflage
Boarding the buses,
Not understanding
The dangers
That lay before
Their father or mother,
Only recognizing
That tears were falling
All around them,
Mingling with the rain
And belied
By brave smiles
On every face.
Would they all return?
The common question
Remained unasked
Though every heart ached
To know.
Once it was the 182nd Airborne, going to Nam, and there were the same brave faces, the same tiny flags, and the same conviction that, when the country calls...you answer.
God bless the 844th all the way there and back.
Mushroom Cloud, a fact-based historical novel, is the first book of The First Strike Trilogy: USA and the Soviet Union are building nuclear arms for a face off in a potential nuclear war in the late 1950's and early 1960's.
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God bless the 844th all the way there and back.
Semper Fi
Georg
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.
Not only the troops sacrificing, their families, as well -
Be always safe,
Karen
May all of the 844th return--and soon. -gene.