For the troops, past & present

"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have."
~Ronald Reagan
Thoughts of a SoldierI struggle to see my objective for the sand blowing in my eyes, I hear the sound of explosions like thunder from the sky, My mouth is dry and my body aches, I must push on no matter what it takes, the lives of so many innocent keeps running through my mind, I know this is why my country has put my life on the line, So don't lose hope America we do this for you, For all your soldiers bleed red, white and blue .......THE FINAL INSPECTIONThe soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God."Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."~Author Unknown~

I'd like to meet:

~JUST A COMMON SOLDIER~He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion telling stories of his 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 tho' sometimes to his neighbours, 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 the soldier died today.He won't be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary, quick and uneventful life
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way
And the world won't note his passing, tho' 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 life stories from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.In the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
One guy breaks his promises and cons his fellow man
But 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 your 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 right to the end?He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin
But his presence should remind us we may need his likes 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 honour while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY !!"~Author Unknown
THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TOCPL JEREMY GRAHAM, AUSTRALIAN ARMY, 4TH RAR (CMDO) WAS LOST TO HIS BROTHERS RECENTLY WHILE SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN. HE LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE AND 2 DAUGHTERS. THIS POEM IS WRITTEN FOR HIM. FALLEN WARRIORA WARRIOR FELL TODAY
HOW HE IS REMEMBERED IS UP TO YOU
HOW WILL YOU REMEMBER HIM?WILL YOU REMEMBER THE WARRIOR?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE HUSBAND?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE FATHER?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE SON?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE BROTHER?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE FRIEND?THE WARRIOR STOOD BEFORE YOU
AND DEFLECTED DANGER BEFORE IT GOT TO YOU
HE DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR THANKS
HE DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR PRAISE
IT WAS SECOND NATURE TO HIM
THAT THIS DAY MIGHT HAPPEN WAS BEFORE HIM
AND STILL HE STOOD THERETHE HUSBAND WAS THE MAN WHO LOVED HIS WIFE
HE TOO STOOD BEFORE HER AND DEFLECTED DANGER FROM HER
IT WAS SECOND NATURE TO HIM, HE DID IT WITHOUT THINKING
HER LOVE FOR HIM WAS ALL THE THANKS HE EVER NEEDED
HE LOVED TO MAKE HER HAPPYTHE FATHER WATCHED AFTER HIS CHILDREN
HE WATCHED THEM LIKE A WOLF PROTECTING ITS LITTER
DELIGHTING IN THIER SMILES AND LAUGHTER
HE ENJOYED PLAYING WITH THEM AND MAKING THEM HAPPY
HE MADE SURE THEY HAD THE BEST HE COULD AFFORD
GOING WITHOUT HIMSELF TO ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL
TEACHING THEM RIGHT AND WRONG, WATCHING THEM GROWTHE SON WAS THE MAN WHO MADE HIS PARENTS PROUD
HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEM
THEY REJOICED IN ALL HE DID, THEY HELPED HIM GROW
THEY WATCHED HIM TRANSFORM INTO A MAN RIGHT BEFORE THIER EYES
MOVING FROM BABY TO LITTLE BOY TO TEEN AND INTO MAN
HE LOVED SEEING HIS PARENTS HAPPY AND ALWAYS DID HIS BEST
WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE STOOD FOR MADE THEM PROUDTHE BROTHER WAS THE MAN WHO WATCHED AFTER HIS SIBLINGS
HE PLAYED WITH THEM AND BICKERED WITH THEM AS WELL
THEY DIDNT ALWAYS AGREE BUT THEY LOVED EACH OTHER
HE STRIVED TO HELP THEM, AND THEY STROVE TO HELP HIM
HE LOVED TO BE AROUND THEM AND MISSED THEM WHEN HE COULDNT BE THERE
THIER BOND NO ONE COULD BREAKTHE FRIEND WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU
YOU COULD COUNT ON HIM IN A PINCH
CALL HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND HE ALWAYS ANSWERED
HE WAS THERE WHEN YOU NEEDED A SHOULDER TO CRY ON
HE WAS THERE TO CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
HE BACKED YOU UP WHEN YOU GOT IN OVER YOUR HEAD
AND ASKED FOR NOTHING IN RETURNWHICH PART OF HIM WILL YOU REMEMBER
I CHOOSE TO REMEMBER THEM ALL
EACH AND EVERY PART MADE HIM WHAT HE WAS
I NEVER MET HIM BUT A BROTHER TO ME HAS BEEN LOST
HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED
MY BROTHER HAS FALLEN BUT HE IS NOT FORGOTJOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 1987 - 1993
SGT US ARMY 1993 - 2000A Tribute To Veterans In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last
Conditions Where Not Always Best They Could Be
Fighting a Foe You Could Not Always See: From Mountain Highs to Valley Lows
From Jungle Drops to Desert Patrols Our Sinewy Sons Were Sent Over Seas
Far From Their Families And Far From Their Dreams
They Never Wrote Letters Of Hardships Despair
Only Of Love, Yearning That One Day Soon: They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On With The Rest of Their Lives The P.O.W.S Stood Steadfast
Against the Indignities And Cruelties Of War
They Could Not Have Lasted as Long as They Did
If They Had Relinquished Their Hope That Some Day: They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On the Rest Of Their Lives Medics, Nurses, and Chaplains Alike
Did What They Needed To Bring Back Life
They Served Our Forces From Day Into Night
Not Questioning If They Would Survive: They Mended Bones And Bodies Too,
They Soothed the Spirits of Dying Souls And for Those M.I.AS, Who Were Left Behind
We Echo This Message Across the Seas
We Will search For as Long As It Takes
Youre Not Forgotten And Will Always Be: In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers,
In Our Minds For All Time A Moment of Silence, a Moment of Summons
Is Their Deliverance of Body And Soul
To a Sacred Place That We All Know
Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul: In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers
In Our Minds For All TimeSoldiers EyesTo look into a soldier's eyes, the window to their soul.
Look out from inside their mind and see horrors never told.
You say we are just killers, it's not that plain you see.
Take a walk inside my boots and see what I have seen.

Many innocent lives taken and soldiers, they were some.
Giving their life freely to get the mission done.
The last cold stare of death, we see in our buddies eyes.
They fought for all your freedom, this is why we die.
Some wonder why we fight to protect this nation and maybe lose our life.
Ask this question to a soldier, the answers in their eyes.
Always will we be here waiting, the call we won't deny.
We'll always fight for freedom, never asking why.
We'll go away to far off lands , leaving our loved ones behind.
Many times we die alone, several times inside.
Open windows to our soul, see the tears we hide.
Secrets that we cannot keep are in a soldier's eyes

~ SSG M.Lynn McCulleyA Soldiers PrayerWhenever you see this star, please pray for me,
For on a lonely journey, I will be.
Serving my country by protecting this land,
Created so uniquely by the Master's Hand.Pray for my protection and safety as I go,
Deliverance from the evil snares of my foes.
Pray for my courage to stand brave and strong,
But humbleness to remember to whom I belong.Pray I'll be the man God created me to be,
Cleansed by the blood on the cross at Calvary.
Pray that I'll take up daily the full Armor of God,
To guide and protect my footsteps wherever I may trod.Pray for wisdom and discernment in every decision I make,
That I'll seek His will before each step that I take.
Pray I'll find comfort in knowing He's always there,
Trusting Him completely with all my burdens to bear.Pray for endurance as I bravely answer this call,
Remembering that for me, He gave His One and All.
Pray that I'll lean not on my own understanding,
For only in Him is victory and true honor gained.Pray for my family while I'm away from home,
Help them to remember that they're never alone.
Pray they'll trust the Sovereignty of His unseen Hand,
Focusing on the One who has a Master Plan.Pray I'll find hope renewed and in Him, the strength,
If my spirit begins to grow weary and faint.
Pray that on wings like eagles, I will soar,
If I begin to feel that I can take no more.Now, as this nation's freedom I go to defend,
Pray for my swift and safe return in the end.
Pray that in Him, I completely trust and obey,
As I fulfill the mission of "Enduring Freedom" for the USAAND NEVER FORGET THAT SOME GAVE ALLUNITED WE STAND
United we stand,
Steadfast and tall,
Commited to peace,
And freedom for all.
For times like these,
That try all our souls,
Can renew our faith,
In ourselves and our goals.
Let's open our hearts,
As our proud banners wave,
O'er the land of the free,
And the home of the brave!
For My Country
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Music:

Military
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Movies:

I will be thinking of you....It was with a sense of wonder the people stood and stared.
It was a great relief that they no longer had to be scared.
I looked down at the faces of the parents and their children in the crowd.
I felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Today I felt so proud.
To be a soldier and to fight for my country, family and life,
I would choose to do it againâ€¦and bear the stress and strife.
Not a day goes by I donâ€™t think of the losses and the pain.
Not a night goes by that I donâ€™t miss my family and feel the strain.
Each day I slug through the difficult weather and hard terrain to go
another mile into enemy landâ€¦then, the rain clouds part and I see the rainbow.
The promise that greets my tired and gritty eyes and fills them with salty tears.
Suddenly I am five again and experience the world through childish eyes and ears.
I long for the comfort of my loved ones arms and ache for a loving touch.
I miss my parentâ€™s concerned faces and wish I could see them so much.
The job I am doing is important and the strength of my conviction frees me.
It helps me through the darkest nights and doesnâ€™t let the fear of death seize me.
The war is ending, we hear through the lines and through the radio.
We all feel such joy and yet so much sorrow.
Sorrow for all the fallen comrades who will never again feel the warmth of the sun.
Those who would never touch their countries soil or bask in a job very well done.
Iâ€™ve seen their bodies lifted out to make that long final journey home at last.
Full well knowing that they have already gone home and this life is in the past.
Upon reaching homeâ€™s shore, I will hug my loved oneâ€™s to me and say:
â€œI am so very glad to be home with you, at last, today.â€
I know that deep inside, despite all my joy, I will have a part of me that saysâ€¦
â€œTo my fallen friends, I will be thinking of you now and always.â€
Battlefields War is not just politics.A fear as tangible as pain--
To lie where other men have lain--
In death upon a bed of gore
Where blood is spilt at Heaven's door.For nowhere else might one be led
From where the bravest lives are shed.
Those angels whose protection failed
Are mourning still for life exhaled.The battlefield is seldom free
Of what is named "Absurdity"
By those at home, unblessed, untried,
Without esteem for those who died.So God forgive, or better yet,
Place them where they can't forget
That freedom dies for he who yields
What's won or lost on battlefields.~ Michael A Gibbs

Books:

Standing GuardThe embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child."What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night""Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue ... an American flag."I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall.""So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.~Michael MarksWHO AM IWHO AM I
I AM YOUR BROTHER
I AM YOUR SISTER
I AM YOUR COUSIN
I AM YOUR SON
I AM YOUR DAUGHTER
I AM YOUR FRIENDWHO AM I
I AM A SAILOR
I ENSURE THE WORLDS WATERS ARE SAFE
I PATROL AND DEFEND MY NATIONS COASTLINEWHO AM I
I AM AN AIRMAN
I ENSURE THE WORLDS SKY'S ARE SAFE
I PATROL AND DEFEND MY NATIONS AIRSPACEWHO AM I
I AM A MARINE
I AM MY NATIONS QUICK REACTION FORCE
I TAKE THE OBJECTIVE AND HOLD IT TIL RELIEVEDWHO AM I
I AM A SOLDIER
I DEFEND MY NATION FROM THOSE WHO ATTACK US
I TAKE THE OBJECTIVE AND HOLD IT TIL RELIEVEDI DONT ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND
FOR I KNOW YOU NEVER TRULY WILL
THE SAYING SAYS THAT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR IT
FREEDOM HAS A TASTE THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOWI DO HOWEVER ASK THAT YOU RESPECT MY LIFE
AND WHAT I DID SHOULD I FALL WHILE DEFENDING MY COUNTRY
DONT USE ME FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL GAIN OR AGENDA
DOING SO CHEAPENS MY DEATH AND THE IDEALS FOR WHICH I DIEDI FIGHT, KILL AND DIE FOR YOU
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO DO WHAT I HAVE HAD TO DO
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO SEE WHAT I HAVE HAD TO SEE
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO KILL ANOTHER AS I HAVE HAD TOI DO NOT ENJOY KILLING
I DO NOT ENJOY WATCHING MY FRIENDS GET WOUNDED, MAIMED AND KILLED
I SURE AS HELL DO NOT ENJOY DIEINGI FEEL EVERY SINGLE DEATH OF A MILITARY MEMBER
THEY ARE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
EVERY TIME ONE OF THEM DIES I FEEL THE LOSSTRY AND REMEMBER TO SAY THANK YOU AS YOU SEE ME WALK PAST AND UNDERSTAND WHEN I SAY ITS NOT NECESSARY I DO WHAT I DO BECAUSE I WANT TO NOT BECAUSE SOMEONE MADE ME I SAID I WOULD AND I WILLWHO AM I
I AM YOUR BROTHER
I AM YOUR SISTER
I AM YOUR COUSIN
I AM YOUR SON
I AM YOUR DAUGHTER
I AM YOUR FRIEND
I AM A MEMBER OF THE ARMED SERVICESJOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 87 -93
SGT CA US ARMY 93-2000
[email protected]
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE 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,
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
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 is not 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 is not free. ~Cadet Major Kelly Strong
AFJ ROTC
Homestead Sr. High School
Homestead, Florida 1988 Medals Don't envy a man his medals
All those ribbons on his chest
He did not try to get them
They're not there at his request
They were earned in stinking hell holes
Where no man would like to go
Or in cold and wintry places
Where there's only ice and snow
He did not know he earned them
Till they were awarded at parade
And they were bright when he first got them
But in time the colors fade
He was told he had to wear them
And to wear them all with pride
But when the memories come to haunt him
Those same medals make him hide
Cause those medals will not bring back
All those guys he left behind
And he would trade them all forever
For a little peace of mind
So don't envy a man his medals
You don't want to take his place
Thinking back to long gone battles
And meeting dead friends face to face
~Author Unknown "SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO" Six simple words that convey so much, I never personally knew the man who spoke them, but in reading them my passion for writing once again has stirred.Why did I join the military?
Why did I give up an easy life?
Why did I swear to protect my nation?SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO Why did give up my life for so many years?
Why did I leave my parents and brothers and sisters at home?
Why do I leave my newlywed wife at home?
Why did I leave my children at home? SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO Why do I put my life on the line for people I dont even know?
Why am I willing to sacrifice my life?
Why did i go over to Iraq?
Why did I die? SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO A lot of people dont understand why
Some cant fathom it at all
The simplest reason I can give you is this SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO This is the answer Lcpl Lopez would give his friends when asked why he was going over to Iraq Lcpl Hugo R. Lopez USMC
WIA Nov. 20 2005
Died Jan 27 2006 from his woundsLcpl Lopez is survived by his mother, his brother and his sister
FALLEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
RIP BROTHER JOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 1987 - 1993
SGT US ARMY 1993 - 2000