A Tribute to...

I am A Soldier

I was there in Lexington,
When the “shot was heard around the world.”
I was there on Bunker Hill,
waiting for my enemies to kill.
I was there at Valley Forge,
With the winter dark and cold.
With Washington on the Delaware,
With our nations flag unfurled.
Again at Yorktown, I was there,
when Cornwallis gave up the fight.
I was there at Philadelphia,
When the bells rang out that night.

In the War between the States,
Our country’s unity was at stake.
In the battle of the blue and the gray
We were a country divided,
Is what they came to say.
I was there with Lee,
At the first Battle of Bull Run.
I was there with McClellan
At the Battle of Antietam.
I fought with Grant at Gettysburg,
Where blood covered the fields.
Where my brothers lie wounded or dead,
Among the Lilies of the field.

I was there in WWI,
The war to end all wars.
I fought across Flanders Field
On my way to fight the Hun.
We moved from trench to trench,
With bombs bursting all around.
The smell of death and gun fires haze,
Laid upon the ground.
Till finally we could say,
the battles done over there.
And again I can say,
Yes, I was there.

War broke out one more time,
In the lands across the seas.
WWII had begun,
Thanks to the Japanese.
I was there at Pearl Harbor,
On the day that they attacked.
I watched the Arizona sink,
Battleship Row was sacked.
There came the cries and the mercy pleas,
From the men below the sea.
But the one thing you don’t understand,
These cries came from me.

But I fought in another land,
Another one far away.
I started out in England,
One dark and stormy day.
Back to the shores of Normandy,
To Flanders Field I came.
On Omaha, Sword, Utah and Juno,
We landed on that day.
We came across the ocean,
To a place called Normandy.
I fought with Patton, Bradley,
And of course Montgomery.
We fought across France,
Freed Paris on the way.
Pushing the Germans back,
With blood we paved our way.

I fought with Patton in the Battle of the Bulge,
I saved my fellow troops in a place called Bastogne.
I took a town they call Cologne,
Near a river the Germans call home.
I entered into Germany,
Made some discoveries along the way.
Places like Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Belsen,
And Dachau were their names.
We marched into Berlin to claim our victory.
Once again I celebrated,
This time VE Day.

I fought the Battle of Midway,
From Tarawa to Guam.
In hot jungles of the Isles,
On Iwo and Guadalcanal.
I was there with McArthur,
on his return to the Philippines,
Yes I was there with the Navy and Marines.
I was on the Missouri,
over in Tokyo Bay.
When the Japanese surrendered,
I celebrated VJ Day.

Once again I heard the call,
My country needed me.
To a small country called Vietnam
To save the Vietnamese.
I fought at places with strange names,
Like Phuoc Long, Khe Sanh, and Da Nang.
I fought against the Viet Cong,
And an army that was insane.
In bloody rice paddies I watched my soldiers die,
But we fought on with determination in our eye.
Back at home things were out of hand,
Our fellow Americans were protesting Vietnam.
They marched in the streets all across this land,
Yelling and screaming and signs in their hands.
They called me a murderer, a baby killer too,
They called me a war monger,
And say I tortured a few.

When I came home,
They spat upon my face.
Called me names,
And said I was a disgrace.
My uniform I wore with pride,
And medals upon my chest.
But hate, and disgust are what I really met,
For someone that had done their best.
We lost that one I am ashamed to say,
To politicians not Communism and treachery.
For many years I hung my head low,
My colors I was afraid to show.

Now here I am in another foreign land,
A place with trees and burning desert sand.
I helped to take out a tyrant, they say.
Liberated a people, and land,
For democracy.
The war was swift and clean.
With modern weapons, tanks and machines.
We fought against evil Saddam,
Thinking back on Vietnam.

Now I am writing home,
Telling of the things I’ve done.
New schools, new streets and friends that I‘ve made.
Of children no longer filled with hate.
An election they’ve just held,
A new government as well.
But again back home I hear a roar,
I hear the ranting come once more.
Protesting, hatred, and the signs,
Against this government of mine.

They say I torture, kill and rape,
They say this war was a mistake.
They say democracy can not last,
Bring our boys home,
And do it fast.
For me I say, you’re the disgrace,
You’ve no idea about this place.
The changes that I’ve made,
Are for the good, for freedom sake.
But I will do as I am told,
Just like I’ve done in days of old.
When my country calls,
I will again enter hells dark halls.

But you see,
I have lasted long.
Spreading democracy
and freedom abroad.
From Valley Forge to Tokyo Bay,
From Vietnam to Baghdad‘s graves.
I am a soldier, that’s all I am.
I stand tall and I fear no man.
For your rights I fight today,
To keep you safe from enemies
Far away.
All the freedoms I keep for you,
Freedom of speech and the right to choose.

I still stand before my flag,
With honor I salute and brag.
For no other country can honestly say,
They stand for freedom and democracy.
Won’t you join me in my salute,
After all, I have done it all for you.