Memorial Day...........

I watched the flag pass by one day,

It fluttered in the breeze;

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform,

So young, so tall, so proud;

With hair cut square and eyes alert,

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought ... how many men like him

Had fallen through the years?

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilot's planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?

No ... Freedom is not Free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,

When everything was still;

I listened to the bugler play,And felt a sudden chill;

I wondered just how many times

That Taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend;

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands ...

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea,

Of unmarked graves in Arlington ...

No ... Freedom is not Free!

Author unknown 

To any of you who have served
To those of you who serve now
and to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice,

Thank you.


( I have seen these cartoons before and was searching for some other info for Memorial Day. I found the Poem and the pics all together at this blog... "John's CLL Blog" he put up a good post 2 years ago)