In Memorium

Frank Nell. His headstone in Flanders Field has his surname as DeNell. I believe he lied about his place of birth and surname to hide that he was mixed race so he could fight on the front lines, but that is another story. He died August 9, 1918 in Belgium.

How do I add the photo so it can be seen in the post??

I don't know of anyone personally who has died while fighting for our country. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been people I know. 9 uncles, my Dad, my son (who has a pending deployment starting in October), church friends, classmates, etc. have all been in the service of our contry - but have all survived. Some have passed away since because of illness, old age, etc. I am thankful for all of them.

I don't think Timmy put in enough self serving schmaltz into this thread.



Now it's complete.

Like most career soldiers, I left many friends in foreign graveyards but as one of my colleagues said many were dead over there and didn't know it, coming home with all sorts of cancers and environmental toxins endemic to the battlefield and died later of these issues. I do think about them regularly, and I appreciate whomever started this thread!
Pack88

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)
"How to Die"

Dark clouds are smouldering into red
While down the craters morning burns.
The dying soldier shifts his head
To watch the glory that returns;
He lifts his fingers toward the skies
Where holy brightness breaks in flame;
Radiance reflected in his eyes,
And on his lips a whispered name.

You'd think, to hear some people talk,
That lads go West with sobs and curses,
And sullen faces white as chalk,
Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses.
But they've been taught the way to do it
Like Christian soldiers; not with haste
And shuddering groans; but passing through it
With due regard for decent taste.

------------------

Bless every soul that has passed but curse those who claim death for their own ideology.

Honor the fallen.

War is all hell and nobody could ever imagine what combat does to the mindset of a human being accept those who have lived through it.

We salute you. Come home soon. Come home safe.


"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

GPack88, I truly feel terrible for you and your fallen comrades. Such a reckless time of war. So many needlessly died...

George Noory read this on Coast To Coast AM tonight, it brought a tear to my eye.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
By A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.


© 1987 A. Lawrence Vaincourt

Pat Tillman confirmed that poeple weren't allowed to play music on main street

My tribute to my two uncles: Dale, a first dayer at Omaha Beach. And AL, two tours as a jungle marine in 68-69 Vietnam. Both survived their combat. Neither ever answered when asked about it except when Dale said "It isn't something you want to experience or I want to talk about." Both are now beyond remembering.
Salute.