In fond memory of Colonel
Ted ("Hawk") Guy, Retired.
Senior Ranking Officer POW/MIA
(18 April 1929 - 23 April 1999)
ONE MORE ROLL
We toast our faithful comrades
Now fallen from the sky
And gently caught by God's own hand
To be with Him on high.
To dwell among the soaring clouds
They knew so well before
From dawn patrol and victory roll
At heaven's very door.
And as we fly among them there
We're sure to hear their plea
"Take care, my friend, watch your six,
And do one more roll... just for me."
HANOI, 1968
Gerald
(Jerry) Coffee
Captain, USN (Ret.)
******************************
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn't free!!
God Bless America
(Author unknown)
******************************
THE WALL REVISITED
Where have all the people gone
That used to stand at night
Who stood the watch upon The Wall
With those who fought the fight?
There used to be so many
I could see each way I'd face
But tonight The Wall was silent
As to memories I paced ...
No vets, no tourists, no
breathing soul
Was present in my haze
Just me and the driver who got a ticket
As I sobbed alone and traced.
Where are they now those
brave young men
Who swore they'd stand so tall
That NEVER would a sobbing vet
Alone come face The Wall?
I'm glad I come alone this night
Because next week you see
I would have drug a friend along
Who's a lot worse off than me.
The Walking Dead are walking still
And will for years, I'm shown
Until they finally see THEIR wall
But they can't go alone.
So stand aware, you vets and
friends
The lone wolf comes one night
To face HIS hell so I hope you're back
To stand his six in the fight.
(Author unknown)
******************************
Not enough credit given, to mothers, sisters, daughters, wives,
Some too, who gave their all, the best years of their lives.
There's some, wore a uniform, of one of the military "branches"
And like all of those men, taken some deadly chances.
Some were in the U.S.O., brought a little taste of home,
With smalltalk, donuts, coffee, where'er the troops would roam.
There was "Rosie the Riveter," who fought her own war here.
And the nurses that eased the pain, and tried to ease the fear.
There were women pilots, who put their lives on the line,
Said, "Send me where you will. That suits me, just fine!"
Those who stayed at home, to raise their families,
Who gave all, went without, realizing harsh realities.
So many of those women, who gave so much more
Than they were asked to, during each and every war.
We honor those, upon this stone, and give our humble "Thanks"
To those who served with honor, in our country's wartime ranks.
Courtesy of
Del "Abe" Jones
******************************
POW/MIA
So many fates are left unknown
And so many rumors that abound
So many families ask the question
"When will, the answers be found?"
So many years have come and gone
Sometimes, hope is hard to keep
There's some who feel there's none
And in some, it's buried deep.
The pain, is in not knowing
How, to put loved ones' to rest
When there is no way to prove
They have passed, the final test.
But, no matter what the answers
We can't let this cause alone
Until, each and every one of them
Is found, and brought back home.
Courtesy of
Del "Abe" Jones
******************************
THE WALL
There's a wall of marble
Five hundred feet long -
Ten feet high, scribed with names
Of those who died, the strong.
There's more than fifty-eight thousand
Etched upon that stone -
Most of them died so young
This life, they've never known.
It's such a small tribute
To those who fought our war -
Such a small price we pay
To those who gave much more.
Their name carved in a rock
That most of us won't read -
Not near enough praise to give
For their most gracious deed.
Seems there's too many of us
Who don't really seem to care
That we stayed home secure and safe
While they died over there.
Remember when you see that Wall
With all those initials and names
That those men were only pawns
In one more of those deadly games.
Let's hope what they gave had meaning -
And that peace will always reign -
That we won't have to send our young
To fight and die again.
Courtesy of
Del "Abe" Jones
******************************
Our adopted hero,
E-4 LARRY CARL JAMERSON
(Click below for information on his
disappearance)
DETAILS
It was certainly an unexpected
pleasure to receive this lovely award
from the Beloz family on Dec. 31, 1999. Please be sure to visit their
site!
NOTE: "All Biographical and loss
information on POWs provided by Operation Just Cause have
been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POWNET. Please check with
P.O.W. Network regularly for updates."
The remains of five Americans lost during the Vietnam
War, four of them military fliers, have been identified and returned to the United States
for burial, the US Defense Department reported in August, 1998.
The remains of 17 US Air Force
airmen shot down during the Cold War have been identified as a group and
were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, Sept. 2,
1998.
To date, a total of 502 missing Americans have now been
identified since the end of the war in Southeast Asia and 2,081 are still unaccounted for.
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