The picture above was obtained from http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/
While I am sure the web will abound today with posts honoring Veterans, for my own remembrance I had received several emails this past week from a current active duty soldier with some poems he wished to share for Veteran's Day....and have been saving them to pass on here. (So, thank you "D", for sending these, and also for your service to our country.)
The first two poems he sent, I found when I Googled them, were written by Junior High Students! How wonderful, that the young people of our country are honoring our veterans!
The poems are:
Veterans
by Brittany Skinner
They were there,
And they remember,
The shock, the horror
Of watching strangers die.
A life ended
By a fellow soldier's shaking hands.
The unimaginable debt,
Owed by a free world
Can never be repaid,
Still we try
Giving up an hour, a day
To thank you for the burden you now carry
Laid there so we can live our lives.
They fought,
And killed
Enemies with faces
Identities unknown to the bullets
Shattering the protective shield
Laid there by those they loved.
For one day a year we honor you
For our lives,
It can never compare
Still we try
Thanking you on this day
For a million moments
You lived, so we could too.
Heroes
By Jared Jenkins
In war, there are lives risked and lives taken
Men and women giving their best to defend what they love
They defend their country
Their honor
Their people
Some call them soldiers
Others call them heroes
Our veterans have risked their lives for us
They have lived through hell and fought with honor
Many have killed
And regret doing so
For every life, there is a soul
For every soul, there is a life
For those who have died, we show great appreciation and remembrance
For those who live, along with them live the horrific memories of battle
Some, memories of defeat
Some, memories of victory
Our veterans were more than soldiers
They were, and still are, heroes
and the website where these poems (and several others) can be found is here Click here: Veteran's Day Poems
and their school site is here
(and kudos, to the students and teachers at this school!)
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The next poem sent was:
Thank You Soldier
By Chris Woolnough
Have you stopped to thank a veteran today?
For the price of freedom they had to pay?
Did you gaze into those distant eyes?
Did you see the ghosts he can't deny?
Did you think a soldier's heart wasmade of steel?
Because he was trained to kill, he couldn't feel?
Did you see the guilt written on his face,
For the loss of life he can't replace?
Did you know he mourns the lives he couldn't save,
And walks with comrades in their grave?
Did you remember the boy with innocence lost?
Do you really know war's ultimate cost?
Have you felt the blast of artillery fire?
Do you have the courage it would require?
Have you stood in trenches consumed with fear?
Felt the enemies breath so very near?
Have you walked with God on a battleground?
Seen your brothers dead or dying all around?
Have you stopped to thank a vet today,
Or did you just turn and walk away?
From the pain he'll carry for the rest of his life,
Did you consider his family, his children, his wife?
That watch him suffer in silence each and every day,
As he's haunted by memories that don't go away?
Did you care that the soldier is still pulling guard?
That his heart, mind, and soul will forever be scarred?
Do you know how he suffers from ptsd?
Or that our precious freedom is never free?
Do you care that he still hears the blood curdling screams?
Or that he returns to the war each night in his dreams?
Have you felt the sorrow of a combat vet?
Or would you rather just forget?
That war has pierced his hardened heart,
And torn this soldier all apart?
Would you rather our heroes just fade away?
Or will you stop to thank a vet today?
By Chris Woolnough
Have you stopped to thank a veteran today?
For the price of freedom they had to pay?
Did you gaze into those distant eyes?
Did you see the ghosts he can't deny?
Did you think a soldier's heart wasmade of steel?
Because he was trained to kill, he couldn't feel?
Did you see the guilt written on his face,
For the loss of life he can't replace?
Did you know he mourns the lives he couldn't save,
And walks with comrades in their grave?
Did you remember the boy with innocence lost?
Do you really know war's ultimate cost?
Have you felt the blast of artillery fire?
Do you have the courage it would require?
Have you stood in trenches consumed with fear?
Felt the enemies breath so very near?
Have you walked with God on a battleground?
Seen your brothers dead or dying all around?
Have you stopped to thank a vet today,
Or did you just turn and walk away?
From the pain he'll carry for the rest of his life,
Did you consider his family, his children, his wife?
That watch him suffer in silence each and every day,
As he's haunted by memories that don't go away?
Did you care that the soldier is still pulling guard?
That his heart, mind, and soul will forever be scarred?
Do you know how he suffers from ptsd?
Or that our precious freedom is never free?
Do you care that he still hears the blood curdling screams?
Or that he returns to the war each night in his dreams?
Have you felt the sorrow of a combat vet?
Or would you rather just forget?
That war has pierced his hardened heart,
And torn this soldier all apart?
Would you rather our heroes just fade away?
Or will you stop to thank a vet today?
(and the link in the title sent me here
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Mr. Robert Stokely has a beautiful post up at Yikes!
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And sometimes short and simple says it best...like my friend Trish
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So, THANK YOU, to each and every one of our veterans (and their families) today. And God bless you.
And a most special Thank You to the veterans in my family...Dad, My Aunt and My Grandad(who is gone,but not forgotten.)
Tags Veterans Day veterans
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