He was getting old and paunchy and his hair
was falling fast, and he sat around the Legion,
telling stories of the past. Of a war that he
had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
in his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes,
every one.
And though sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales
became a joke, all his Legion buddies listened, for
they knew whereof he spoke. But we'll hear his tales
no longer, for old Bill has passed away. And the
world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and
his wife, for he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful
life. He held a job and raised a family quietly going his
own way, and the world won't note his passing, though a
soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in
state, while thousands note their passing and proclaim that
they were great. Papers tell their whole life stories, from
the time that they were young, but the passing of a
soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land,
a guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
goes off to serve his country and offers up his life?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he
gives. While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them, for it was so long ago,
that the old Bills of our country went to battle, but
we know it was not the politicians, with their compromise
and ploys, who won for us the freedom that our country
now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with our enemies
at hand, would you want a politician with his ever-
shifting stand? Or would you prefer a soldier, who has
sworn to defend his home, his kin and country and
would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing
thin, but his presence should remind us, we need his like
again. For when countries are in conflict, then we find
the soldier's part is to clean up all the troubles that
the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the
praise, then at least let's give him homage at the
ending of his days. Perhaps a simple headline in a paper
that would say, "Our Country Is In Mourning, For A soldier
Died Today."
Lawrence Vaincourt
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