Category: Poems

For Our Vietnam Vets

Good Friday morning to you and all Marines and their families everywhere. Our Marine, L CPL Daniell — is still in Iraq, finishing the fight to keep those elections on course. Praying for all involved to be safe and to be effective in the fight. We continue to be oh, so proud of our Marine. He sounds so tired on the phone; doesn’t want a party when he gets home, doesn’t want to answer a lot of questions and talk about his experiences there. He’s lost dear friends and had others terribly wounded. It’s taken its toll; I just want my son home to rest and to get the sleep he’s missed these last 6 months. I got a wonderful email a while ago, written by a Marine, Sgt. I think. In it he talked about how well our Marines and other service people are being treated, in this war and then in the first Gulf War. He stated that was due to the fact that this nation learned it’s lesson by the treatment of our brave Vietnam veterans. They were shamefully treated, and that’s the God’s honest truth. I work at the state employment office in Martinsburg, WV and I’ve seen first hand these last 15 1/2 yrs. the effects of the cost of their service. Shameful still doesn’t cover it. We had an event in Nov. to honor veterans. I spoke with 2 gentleman, who I figured were VIetnam vets and told them about my son. I thanked them for their service and I man said “I’ve waited 30 yrs. to hear that” Of course, then I had to hug him and try not to cry. God bless ’em, each and everyone for all they did and may He heal the hurt and pain they feel. The Lord gave me some words to that effect. With your kind permission, will list them here: read more

Vietnam 1968

VIETNAM 1968
Cpl Pinkerton

VIETNAM 1968

You walk along the sidewalk here,
and see the bunkers lying near;
the sight you see is somewhat stunning,
and then you hear feet a-running;
as someone yells “INCOMING”.

Some land near, some far away,
it happens anytime, night or day;
the raucous roar of rounds that burst,
always seems closer than the first;
although you pray against the worst. read more

Veteran’s Poem

A Veteran's Christmas Wish
By Robert A. Hall

Each year when Christmas comes around again,
I pause on Christmas Eve to take a dram
Of whisky, and I think of absent friends,
And Christmas in a place called Vietnam.

I think of boys who never had the chance
To see their kids on Christmas Eve at play,
Their lives were spent that freedom might advance,
From Valley Forge right up through yesterday. read more

Veterans Hat

Veterans Hat
Robert Charles Steinmeyer

I had a man come up to me
He ask me why I wore a hat in such a manner as I did
With patches and pins that clearly read Veteran United States Marine
I turned and proudly answered, well my friend it goes like this
I wear this hat not just for me
Although I certainly earned the right to bear the title of the United States Marines
No, I wear it for the veterans who served long before both you and me
Both on and off the battle fields offering their greatest sacrifice, again for you and me
I wear it for all who serve today both in the air, on the land and on the sea
I wear it as a reminder for all those who stand around and next to me
Of the blanket of freedom and security
These veterans afford us every day and every night we go to sleep
But most of all I wear in my fathers memory
Who valiantly served the 1st Marines fighting in Korea
Who when I volunteered and joined the Marines
Was so very proud me
I wear it in honor of my mother who endured the tears and sleepless nights
Waiting for her loved ones to call alone, homesick and filled with fright
You see my family has quite a military past
My Father and I in the 1st Marines
My brother in the US Navy
My Brother in-law retiring from the US Coast Guard
And now my Niece is in the Marine Corps and married to a Marine
Now with so much corruption and disregard for basic human rights
You might be comforted in knowing we who wear these hats
Still believe and are ready, able and willing to fight
For God, Country and decency
And for this I wear my hat so proudly
As the conscience and the heart of a person who will never forget
God Bless the USA and all its US military Vets
And Semper Fi to all my brother Marines read more

Marine Corps Veteran Poem

HONOR THE VETERAN
by: Sunny Paula Barnhart USMC

Veterans are easy to recognize
By their special swagger
And their shattered eyes
By the way they stand so tall
When the flag is raised
And how they bow their head
When the Lord is praised.
They may have clabbered voices
And brown and mottled skin
A missing arm or leg or eye
But you can see the youth within.
What horrors did they see
What hell did they endure
To keep my flag and liberty secure?
What would our nation be like
Without veteranssuch as these?
Let us remember each of them
When we bow our knees
And may we give all reverence due
To the brave men and women
Who defend the Red, White and Blue. read more

USS Cole Poem

Yesterday We Were Parents
by Michelle R. Christman

Yesterday we were parents
We were called mom and dad
I sat and watched the news today
How times over there turned bad

A fear welled up inside me
A chill ran down my spine
The USS Cole was bombed
And she held a son of mine

Fear ripped through my heart
As I searched for any news
Part of me not wanting to know
Part needing to know the truth read more

U.S. Marine Grunt

U.S. Marine Grunt
By S. Haffey

We marched and marched some more
And sung about the core
When we got to the town
We all looked around
There was no one to be found
Gunny told us to hush
Explosions and bullets ripped through the air
We were caught in an ambush
I felt the wiz of a bullet go past my ear
Grunts all hit the ground
While rpgs rained down
My friend was hit in the gut
So I moved him into a hut
The fire did not let up
I could hear the cries of the U.S. Marine Grunt
?Core men up front?
I was pinned down in a bend
I knew this was the end
But I had been trained to be a Marine Grunt
So I started to fire, I was the best
As I fired I grew calmer
Then a bullet hit me in the chest
But did not go through my body armor
The bad guys were held up in a fort
So we called in close air support
The battle was over
The next week at the funeral
They played taps as they were put in the ground
We lost ten good men in that god damned town
We all knew they were heaven bound
We went on patrol the very next night
But there was no one around
As we sat in a tight 360 the rain did not let up
We were all on the hunt
This is the life a U.S. Marine Grunt read more

U.S.M.C. Baby Girl

U.S.M.C. Baby Girl
by Crystal Baxter 2007

I’m a Marine’s baby girl and I’ll always be
Giving up precious time so we can all be free
He doesn’t work 9-5 or get to buy nice things
But still I’m the baby girl of a United States Marine
Even before that day I was born
My daddy has worn that elite uniform
Khaki and green with dog tags to wear
No matter what, I know my daddy will always be there
When he returns from work I nestle in his arms
Protecting me from the surrounding world and any type of harm
He might look scary and sometimes even mean
But here’s my little secret, he’s a softy for his baby girl even as a Marine
I wear my pink as my daddy wears his blues
Daddy and I snuggle on the couch and we love to snooze
Ribbons in my hair and medals on his chest
You can keep your famous dads, my daddy is the best
He’s fought in many wars and stepped on foreign lands
My daddy has held deadly weapons and now he holds my hands
Telling me many stories upon his lap I’ve sat
I love it when people call me U.S.M.C. brat
My daddy goes away so yours can stay at home
Sometimes there are weeks when mommy and I sleep alone
But my daddy always comes back and we tell him the things he missed
Then he hugs mommy and I and gives me a giant kiss
I am the Cadence to which my daddy’s heart beats
With the rank on his collar and the boots on his feet
Just taking one look at my big, brown eyes
My daddy knows why he is Semper Fi
You may call him leatherneck, jar head, devil dog and many other things
But I call him daddy ’cause that’s what he’ll always be to me read more