Sunday - August 22, 2010

Just a Common Soldier

My old high school buddy flapjawman sends me stuff constantly. I’m still about 100 emails behind. He sent this poem a couple of days ago, complete with apology:

(sorry, no reference, someone emailed it to me)

I’ve chewed him out several times for sending me stuff w/o references or links.

Here’s the poem as sent:

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 once 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 buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we’ll hear his tales no longer,
For ol’ Bob has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won’t be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won’t note his passing,
‘Tho 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 of their 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,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
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?

The politician’s stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often 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 is 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 really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who 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,
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 the paper that might say:
“OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.”

Now, I did find a source for this. I ‘binged’ the first verse. (I use Bing instead of Google these days.) Bing returned the following hit:

Just a Common Soldier

© 1985 A. Lawrence Vaincourt

A. Lawrence Vaincourt (WW II Air Force veteran) wrote this poem in 1985 for his newspaper column and it was reprinted in his 1991 book RHYMES AND REFLECTIONS (available from its publisher at http://www.dialogue.ca).  For information regarding reprints or to contact Larry, please e-mail vaincourt@canada.com.

Veteran’s Day will be coming soon. This would be perfect for recitation at any Veteran’s Day event.

I’m also hoping that Mr. Vaincourt won’t be too upset. After all, I did some research and found the proper person to credit. This is apparently making the email rounds sans credit.

Posted by Christopher     on 08/22/2010 at 11:24 AM   
Filed Under: • Patriotism • USA •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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