Military Men

I have known men of courage…

Who served during WW 1 even when they knew

That the only service they’d be allowed to perform

Was latrine, urine, clean up and digging ditches

Trenches for the Real, White GI’s

Or to serve in the officer’s mess as cooks

Or stewards because these men of courage were not

Fit or able for real combat duty because they were Colored

And when they returned they were not fit to be served at Southern lunch counters

Those men were my Grandfathers and Uncles

Who served during WW 2 and performed the same duties as their forefathers

Not fit for combat or officer status because they were Negroes

Until someone discovered that these men could fly planes with the best

And earn honors and medals and fight in the War To End All Wars

Tuskegee Airmen, 92^nd Infantry Buffalo Soldier Division-- “Deeds, not Words”

Who served with distinction and were awarded late honors and medals

They were Over There when Mussolini was defeated, hanged and burned

And when they came home they were not fit to be seated at the front of the bus

Among those men was my Father

Who served voluntarily, not drafted, during Vietnam

No running to the Canadian border or receiving “college deferments”

They were in battle off the coast of South East Asia

Smelled napalm in the morning and were sprayed with Agent Orange

Returning from ‘Nam, no parades for them…the baby killers

Some crippled by mind blowing sights and sounds

Or their minds were just blown and gone… some survived

And when they landed home they were not fit to buy houses in White suburbs

Among these men was my Husband

(And then there was my Mother, not fit for combat

Because she was female and Negro, but she was fit enough

To serve as a nurse in the field

But all she did was try to stitch back together and comfort

The Colored… Negro… wounded warriors…)

~EBPryor

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