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Para's Paryer, and other depthy thoughts... 12/4/2007 6:39:35 PM
The Paratrooper's Prayer is a French poem found in the possession of the presumed author, Aspirant (Lieutenant) André Zirnheld, upon his death in Libya in 1942.
The Paratrooper's Prayer is a French poem found in the possession of the presumed author, Aspirant (Lieutenant) André Zirnheld, upon his death in Libya in 1942.
The Paratrooper's Prayer has been adopted by all French Paratroopers, including those belonging to the French Foreign Legion, and American Paratroopers, living and dead.
The Prayer runs as follows:
I'm asking You God, to give me what You have left.
Give me those things which others never ask of You.
I don't ask You for rest, or tranquility.
Not that of the spirit, the body, or the mind.
I don't ask You for wealth, or success, or even health.
All those things are asked of You so much Lord,
that you can't have any left to give.
Give me instead Lord what You have left.
Give me what others don't want.
I want uncertainty and doubt.
I want torment and battle.
And I ask that You give them to me now and forever Lord,
so I can be sure to always have them,
because I won't always have the strength to ask again.
But give me also the courage, the energy,
and the spirit to face them.
I ask You these things Lord,
because I can't ask them of myself.
***
God must love Paratroopers, Marines, and all other abnormal life forms. I read this the first time as a Marine Lance Corporal in 1982, and it grabbed me by the roots of my soul. I clung to the concept as a Special Forces soldier, convinced of my invincibility while scared to death, dropping from any aircraft into the black of night despite that fear, always willing to push the fragile envelope we define as life, and on the rare occasions I have been faced with mortal peril, I feel it is this concept, my acceptance of whatever was to come, rather than my will to live, that carried me through.
Here's to us, and those like us, damn few, and most of them are dead.
