Perhaps it was dawn that signaled the time

Or sometimes, just the rise of the moon

A bugle, a drum roll, or a coarse, ragged shout

Could herald the coming of doom

And many a young man would shiver in fear

And hope that his friends didn't see

And many an old hand would feel his blood rise

At the thought of what soon was to be

The bloody sun set on the vast fields of carnage

Fields of thunder and terror and death

And a pale dawn would rise on the same scene again

Where so many had gasped their last breath

Lexington, Belleau Wood, Normandy Beach

Shiloh and Arnhem and more

Yorktown and Iwo, Fallujah, Khe Sanh

Mountains and deserts and shores

At the old Checkpoint Charlie facing down the Red Bear

On the DEW Line in blizzards and Ice

DMZ in Korea, missing their families

They served bravely, without thinking twice

Many names have been stricken from the rolls of the living

Forgotten by most in due time

Stone monuments built, respected.... ignored

As weather eroded their rhymes

But the boys who survived those days of such peril

Though they still may not know what it means

Are now brothers in arms and brothers in blood

And remember the things felt and seen

They may gather in groups in the years since their youth

Or in passing, just nod to each other

Recognizing the sacrifice they all had to make

Recognizing the face of a brother

They are brothers by God, brothers in arms

Brothers in laughter and in sorrow

Brothers in courage and brothers in fear

Brothers who prayed for tomorrow

Shake a hand, pat a back, say a simple Thank You

But don't make a fuss if you please

Let them know you are proud of the oath that they took

And that flag that still waves in the breeze

They may wonder why yet they still walk on this earth

While so many good souls slipped away

And each has his own thoughts, only shared with his brothers

Each one has his Veteran's Day

© 2015 Robert De Groff

Veterans Day