The True Meaning of Memorial Day all Packed In a Poem (For your edification)

A SOLDIER DIED TODAY
Originally Titled, "JUST A COMMON SOLDIER"

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt ©1985
Reprinted By Permission

This is consistently one of the most popular pages posted on Jack's Joint

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 tho' 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.
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 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 until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may 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 just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

© 1985 A. Lawrence Vaincourt
Republished by Permission

My father, a Korean War veteran, Staff Sergeant, sent me this piece. Someday he will play the part in this poem of that tragic forgotten role as an old soldier, but I will not forget at least.

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Comment by Less Prone on June 6, 2017 at 6:59pm: Fine, it was a misunderstanding. Keep on posting.

Comment by Doc Vega on June 6, 2017 at 5:14pm: Understood Les, sorry for all the flying shrapnel! Yes, there is warfare that is fabricated for ulterior motives resulting in the blood of our young men being spilled all over the world. It's a horrible shame. Take care.

Comment by Doc Vega on June 6, 2017 at 5:00pm: Understood, sorry for the flurry of misunderstanding like the useless waste of ammunition. Take care!

Comment by Less Prone on May 31, 2017 at 6:16am: I just said that the usury cabal that is behind the carnage and human sacrifice will never thank those who paid the ultimate price. It's not that I would not respect those heroes.

I would have done well to express my appreciation for their sacrifice in the first place though.

Comment by Doc Vega on May 30, 2017 at 11:33pm: Everything you said about war is self evident and who in their right mind would attach glory to the horror of the battlefield! My point was, and it should have been for a knuckled dragger like yourself, was that we honor the men on this holiday for their courage and sacrifice on behalf of their service to their country. How much simpler can I make it for you. If in truth you did serve than why would be accusing those who served in the armed forces of being the unwitting dolts in some kind of conspiratory false flag war waged by the elites for their purposes or for the military industrial complex described by Eisenhower? Your comment was not only distasteful, but irrelevant to my point, and if you're so lofty and informed that no one is going to pull a war over your eyes well aren't so smart! I am so impressed! So no one who has risked their life on the battlefield deserves any kind of acknowledgment, right?

Comment by Less Prone on May 30, 2017 at 9:43pm: It must feel good to finally be able to use those big words and obscenities the runny nose little lad looking up to the foul mouth big boys could not say without a fear of spanking. Doc Vega, congratulations! You are a big boy now too.

Later on you must have found out that the same slurs were effective in intimidating the others and winning arguments as the opposing side effectively shut up. Didn’t it elevate the ego to perceive that look on their faces you would falsely interpret as respect or fear while in fact is was pity?

Doc boy, isn’t it time to get to the next level, the grown up man? When the most effective part of a person’s vocabulary is revolving around subnavel activities, organs, body cavities or their products, it tells a sorry story of his mental development.

The insulting words don’t add any information in a discussion as they are actually meant to deter and paralyze it. So what are you aiming at; elevation of your ego or dictating what we should think?

I have never personally experienced war and don’t pine for any such experience. I do have my stripes from a military service though. My father was hit by a shrapnel and my uncle lost his leg in the second world war. There is nothing romantic or nostalgic in any war. Wars are meat grinders serving the interest of the usury cabal and the military industrial complex only.

I’m sorry if I hurt your butt with my comment but a raw reality is that war is business where many first class citizens and heroes get killed or maimed for the sake of usury, profit, population control and plunder of natural resources.

Comment by Doc Vega on May 29, 2017 at 11:00am: Hey, Dick! This is not a political point nor is it about you BS conspiracy theories and it's because of men like my father and so many others sacrifice so pukes like you can sit around and find fault with everybody but yourself!