A soldier's Christmas poem

[Buckeye]

I'm posting this because I found it touching. Don't know if the preface is true or not, but at least this one shouldn't stir up the controversy my other post did.

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan.  The following is his request.  I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE.  Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can?  Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe.  Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves

for us.  Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF

PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO

IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,

NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,

AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT

CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,

IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,

SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR

IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED

A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO

OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,

THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER

HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT

BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES

AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

"SANTA DON'T CRY,

THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,

I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD,

MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER

AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,

I CONTINUED TO WEEP

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,

SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED

FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE

ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR

SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,

IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

[Michael Dorosh]

Controversy? hmmm, see what happened when Doug Beman posted the same poem in the General Forum - YESTERDAY - where this belongs.

Hi mom.

Get it here!

Seenachai was right - but I loved Aqua's quote even more.

[ 11-15-2001: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ]</p>

[Buckeye]

More holier than thou redux, eh?

Who says it doesn't belong here? If Madmatt, or Kwazy, or someone from BTS says so, fine. Otherwise, just bugger off.

[Doghouse Reily]

I agree, and if MR.Dorosh wishes to talk about this matter my E-Mail adress is doghouseiii@iwon.com

[busboy]

I like it for one, and I personally think one has to LOOK for something to complain about in this, though I don't think a curmudgen is worth complaining about.

For what its worth, here's a poem written by George S. Patton about the Belgian town of Houfillze (sp?) which was utterly destroyed by bombing during the Battle of the Bulge.

To the tune of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem"

Oh little town of Hoffilze

How still we see thee lye

Above thy cracked and battered streets

The aeroplanes sail by.

And in thy dark streets shineth

Not any Goddamned light

Thy hopes and fears through all the years

Were blown to hell last night.

[Ogadai]

I suppose, each to their own. Personally, I find its cloying sentimentality rather annoying. It basically seems to pull the right heart-strings for an American but as an Australian perhaps I'm just a tad too cynical.

[Triumvir]

As just about anyone but an American, I'd say. Glurge like this doesn't usually originate from anywhere else. No comments as to why either; I'm just making an observation with no elucidation.

In any case, I also agree with Dorosh; anyone can be uncomfortable in the field, but it helps to have brains if you want to be comfortable _and_ tactical... a single spraypainted cooler with ice-cold soda is an _incredible_ morale booster in a hot deployment ground under the sun. Not to mention that you can use the runoff later to wash your face with and wake yourself up in the morning. Course, you need a vehicle for this, but the joy of being a gunner lies in being chauffered everywhere you go...

But again, to each their own.