My kind of 1%er. Americas treasure.
This coming Friday, son Doug will be the MC for our local Veteran's Day tribute. Most of these tributes read the poem, "In Flanders Field".
Doug feels that "In Flanders Field" is not appropriate because American men and women did not fight and die at that location, and the poem was written by a Canadian.
Doug has modified a United States Army Infantry poem to give recognition to all American Veterans and will present and read it this Friday at the local Veteran's Day ceremony.
Below is Doug's tribute:
For over two centuries we have kept our nation safe. Purchasing freedom with our blood. To tyrants, we are the day of reckoning; to the oppressed, the hope for the future. Where we were needed, we were there
We are Veterans!
Whether we were Eagles guarding the Heavens
grunts being King of our Hill or Sea wolves stalking our prey under the waves
we all were and are Veterans
. Sworn defenders of our Constitution. We built our Fortress of Liberty
. We guarded the Gates of Freedom
We signed the Blank Check
payable in blood.
We had not yet even begun to fight but we were there from the beginning, meeting the enemy face to face, will to will. Hardship
And glory we have known. Our bleeding feet stained the snow at Valley Forge; our frozen hands pulled Washington across the Delaware. At Yorktown, while the sunlight glinted from the sword we, begrimed
and saw our Nation born.
At New Orleans, we fought beyond the hostile hour, showed the fury of our long rifle
and came of age.
We were with Scott at Vera Cruz
hunted the guerilla in the mountain passes
and scaled the high plateau. The fighting was done when we ended our march many miles from the old Alamo.
From Bull Run to Appomattox, we fought and bled. Both Blue and Gray were our colors then. Two masters we served and united them strong
proved that this nation could right a wrong
and long endure.
We led the charge up San Juan Hill
scaled the walls of old Tientsin
and stalked the Moro in the steaming jungle
still always the vanguard.
At Chateau-Thierry, first over the top, then we stood like a rock on the Marne. We cracked the Hindenburg Line
We broke the Kaiser's spine
and didn't come back home 'till it was "over, over there."
A generation older we briefly bowed at Pearl Harbor and Bataan, but then vowed to return. We fought and won the greatest naval battles in history, from Midway to Guadalcanal to Okinawa. Our foe fought to the death and we set the Rising Sun.
We assaulted the African shore
learned our lessons the hard way in the desert sands
we pressed our buttons into the beach at Anzio
and bounced into Rome with determination and resolve.
We cleared the skies over Europe with wild Mustangs, Lightnings and Thunderbolts.
We crossed the English channel
Breached Hitlers Atlantic Wall
We broke out at St. Lo
Unbent the Bulge
Vaulted the Rhine
and swarmed the Heartland. Hitler's dream and the Third Reich died. We won the greatest war in history.
At birth our Air Force won its first victory
by feeding freedom from the jaws of an evil dictator and proved that all freemen are Berliners.
In Korea, we gathered our strength around Pusan
swept across the frozen Han
outflanked the Reds at Inchon
and marched to the Yalu, and kept a nation free.
At the brink of World War
We caused our enemy to blink.
In Vietnam, while others turned aside, we fought the long fight, from the Central Highlands to the South China Sea. We patrolled the jungle, the paddies, the rivers and owned the skies in the bitter test that belongs to the betrayed. While WE never lost a battle, we came home to be spit on.
Around the world, we stand
ever forward. At Berlin's gates, we scorned the Wall of Shame. We spanned the Caribbean in freedom's cause, answering humanity's cry. In Santo Domingo we patrolled the streets to protect the innocent. In Grenada, we jumped at Salinas and rescued our fellow citizens and proclaimed freedom for all. Our arms set a Panamanian dictator to flight and once more raised freedoms flag. In the Persian Gulf, we drew the line in the desert and won the Mother of all Battles.
When cowards attacked women and children on 9-11, we planted the seeds of freedom in the cradle of civilization. We will not submit
we will not convert
the cowards can run
but they will only die tired.
Where brave men fight
there I fought and stood. In freedom's cause
I live and I kill. From Concord Bridge to Heartbreak Ridge, from the Arctic to the Mekong, from the Caribbean to Kabul
Always ready
then, now, and forevermore.
My bayonet
on the wings of power
keeps freedom worldwide. And despots, falsely garbed in freedom's mantle, falter
hide
. And die.
I Follow
I Teach
I Aid
I Lead
I am a Veteran! FOLLOW ME!
Portions from the poem, I am the Infantry