Happy Memorial Day....as usual this is a long post (sorry) - This is from 2003 when I was in Washington lobbying on behalf of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.....I sent this out as an email to my friends and family...thought today was a good day to share again..... No spam, or no jokes, just a story I want to tell. The week the war broke out, I was in Washington DC for the wildlife federation and I visited the Vietnam war memorial (the wall). I had been in DC before, but never to the memorial. It really moved me. The rain was coming down steadily and yet almost all of us walking down the wall in a slow single file line didn’t have raincoats or umbrellas. The rain was the furthest thing from any of our minds. Just in front of me in line, was a middle aged lady telling a story about how her mother collapsed in their front yard when she found out her son wouldn’t be coming home. There were children climbing ladders to make pencil traces of names of what I will assume were fallen family members. The mood is one I cannot even begin to bring about with these typed words. After my walk down the wall I climbed the steps to the Lincoln memorial and looked back over the reflecting pool to the Washington monument and the capital, in a view that is nothing short of breathtaking. Then and only then did I fathom the significance of the names on the war memorial wall I had just passed. I realized that they were merely citizens from families all across America. They weren’t millionaires, American idols, pro sports stars, movie stars, rock stars, or whatever the hell we call role models or heroes these days. Those men and women weren’t thinking about notoriety or personal gain when they climbed on a plane or a boat headed for Vietnam. This nation didn’t become the most powerful nation in the world because Oprah had a million viewers today, or Sean Penn and the Baldwin idiots won an Oscar. We became the most powerful free nation on the earth because of the sweat, blood, and tears of the common man. From the men with bloody frozen feet at Valley Forge, to those who sweat out 100 degree heat in chemical suits in an Iraqi desert. Now, we find ourselves adulating elected officials, movie stars, and other narcissistic fools. This little coonass from Louisiana has a new set of heroes. I don’t know their names, haven’t seen their faces, and I don’t need to. I looked out on our nations capital and felt their spirits, their souls. I feel lucky to be here on this earth to reap the gifts that their lives purchased and live their legacy. A legacy of FREEDOM born from the ashes of their bodies, and the fire that is their spirit. After that awesome experience, I wrote this poem. I figured I would share it with you all.... WALL/DOOR? I walk down the wall, a black and solemn path. The rain falls steady, as I read wars aftermath. If anyone speaks aloud, It’s in a quiet whisper. In a single file line, We meander like a river. Some people stop, And trace a name. The fallen soldier, This his claim to fame. The names are many, And seem to fade together. Just as they died, One brother, next another. Some say they died, For nothing at all. You’ll say different, If you walk down the wall. As I look over the pool, And see our capital there. I want to get on my knees, And reach out in prayer. Oh Lord, bless these heroes, Men and women who gave it all. Let no one take for granted, Your children on this black wall. They questioned not, When their country called. Nor did they query you, When their bodies did fall. For their legacy let this be, A wall to live on forever and more. But for their souls I pray O’Lord, Please make this your front door. (Mongoose 2003)
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 11:16:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015