Sgt Grit is a place where Marines can come and meet other Marines, share tattoos and stories, keep up with Marine Corps news, or shop for USMC gear.
Dedicated to the past and present Men and Women
of the United States Marine Corps.
Many years ago, in 1969
I was a load of 19, doing mighty fine.
Out of school and working, for United States Steel
Pockets full of money, going for every meal.
Driving my 67 Chevy, with a worked 396
Getting pretty popular with all the local chicks.
We were warriors once,
you and I;
shar’d the same fears,
torment’d by same anxieties.
From time to time,
shar’d same
earthen shelter,
with sterile earthen walls,
ornamented with tools of mortal conflict.
Between battles, we regained our shatter’d minds
listening to each other’s narratives of
youthful interludes.
I heard of you today, not in a usual way,
I heard of the courage you displayed today.
Then I heard of your death that has come at such an early age,
Leaving us to weep and be full of rage.
You gave the highest gift that anyone can ever present,
And with your gift we know why you were sent.
On Saturday the 13th of August the Fairmont Christian Center in Pasadena, Texas unveiled a memorial monument to Fallen heroes from Texas. Although this is not such a special event in itself because so many people and organizations are doing the same type of thing all across the nation, there is one part of this I felt you might like to share with your readers. Mr. Steve Walters, the stepfather of PFC. Leroy Sandoval, Jr., KIA in Fallujah, Iraq on March 26, 2004.
This is for all of my brothers and sisters still in the "sand box".
It's by the Dropkick Murphy's.
I think it epitomizes what we all go through.
LCpl Lutz USMC
"Far Away Coast"
Here in the trenches the fist of the Beast.
For fear of an atmosphere poisoned deceased.
With a gas mask to keep me from breathing my death.
It's American soil I hope for at best.
But the duty I serve can't begin to compare.
To my ancestors battles and wars through the years.
Though the loneliness strikes like an enemy shell.
I pray for my home but still sit here in hell.
Sail away to a place that's unknown.
Taken away from my friends and my home.
To a place they call sacred, a place I call hell.
I long for that corner I once knew so well.
Go to the grind it's all that I have.
Work on and on with nothing to show,
But a graying face in this dying place.
That's a lock in my solitude.
I think of a place on a faraway coast.
Where friends are so dear and there's reason to toast.
A cloudy, dark image of a Middle East land.
Comes down and wrecks my hopeful thoughts.
Sail away to a place that's unknown.
Taken away from my friends and my home.
To a place they call sacred a place I call hell.
I long for that corner I once knew so well.
I laughed while receiving much love,
harbored memories sent to me from above
children and grandchildren showering me with hugs,
while at my heart I could feel a tug.
Out of the blue I could again see you,
I remember Korea, honor to you was due,
thought of freedom and the price you did pay.
I cried as I remembered you never had a Fathers Day.
The Marine 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?”
They lie in flag draped coffins
War’s time for them, is done
But, for their family and friends
The battle has just barely begun.
Some may have had babies born
That they will never get to know
Some, fiancees wait to marry them
But fate, would not let it be so.
I want to share a poem that I wrote and sent to the families of four Marine heroes that were killed in Iraq recently. I got a reply from the father of one of them, thanking me, and ending the message with, “God Bless our soldiers, and God Bless America!” A true Marine parent!
Foreign lands,
Families home,
Marines have gone,
To stand alone.
We fight for God,
Our Country and Corps.
So freedom may reign,
Forever more.
The North, the South,
The Black and the White,
For the American Land,
We all unite.
With my rifle and life,
I defend my home,
Always on call,
Destination unknown.