Memorial Day's Promise

By Dean Minnich


I am the soldier America recalls,
Thousands of names chiseled in walls,
On crosses and stars on old battlefields;
No longer alert to the bugle's shrill peal.
Lying silent in unfound graves.

I am the marine for whom you mourn,
Our mortal bodies ripped and torn
On beaches and jungles no one knows;
Battles that echo the Corps' credo.
Charging the hill, "Semper Fi".

I am the sailor for whom you weep,
Gone forever to the murky deep;
Sailing a course through Heaven's seas
To Preserve our dream of liberties.
Now gone to a last safe harbor.

I am the flier who hears your prayers
Amidst the flak and bursting flares;
Soaring through the iron-filled skies
With the hand of an angel as my guide
As I climb to the Great Beyond.

I am the prisoner who longs for home,
And the Missing In Action all alone,
Who dreams when dreams have been forgot
And all that we did seems for naught
When the world turns its back in neglect.

Now Americans stand in solemn respect
To Salute their warriors and to reflect
On the higher ideals of one free nation --
And those whose lives in dedication
Allow liberty so dear to prevail.

Weep not, America, for what we've paid
And do not mourn us where we lay;
Instead, carry on to future glories,
And keep us alive in your stories
Because we kept America's promise.