This post is a tribute to all who served and died in a defense of our country…
I dedicate this post to Spc. Henry Bacon and Cpt. Orlando Bonilla (a father and a husband of a dear friend, Tabitha Bonilla)
by Kelly Strong
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,
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 died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't 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.
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,
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 died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't 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.
 |
| Source: Photobucket |
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| Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West, 1770 Source: Wikimedia Commons |
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| Washington firing the first gun at the battle of Yorktown by Alexander Ogden, Source: Wikimedia Commons |
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| American Civil War Soldiers, Source: Thomas Legion |
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| March of Times by Henry Sandham, 1896 Source: Wikipedia |
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| N.C. Wyeth, Source: Yvette Can Draw Blog |
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| Dead Soldier by Howard Brodie, 1945 Source: Constitution Center |
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| High Visibility Wrap by Joseph Hirsch, 1944 Source: Constitution Center |
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| Korean War Fallen Soldier by Pfc. Al Chang, 1950 Source: Wikimedia Commons |
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| Long Binh 1968 by David Fairrington, Source: Constitution Center |
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| Vietnam Reflections by Lee Teter, Source: Fun A Day |
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| "United we stand" by Dorota Quiroz, 2009 |
I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men, for a job well done,
There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad, we're proud of your son
[Chorus:]
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington
I remember daddy brought me here when i was eight,
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
And when we finally found that cross,
He said, "son this is what it cost to keep us free" Now here I am,
A thousand stones away from him,
He recognized me on the first day i came in,
And it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels, and saluted me.
[Repeat Chorus]
And every time i hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to is
We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
We can rest in peace, 'cause we are the chosen ones,
We made it to Arlington, yea dust to dust,
Don't cry for us,we made it to Arlington
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| "Coming Home" by Dorota Quiroz, 2013 |
