Salute to the Troops

I got this poem from another mom on cafemom:


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 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 about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

By Kelly Strong, 1981



As memorial day approaches, it reminds me of the sacrifices made by our soldiers, their wives, children, moms, dads, and family and friends. I am proud, grateful, humbled, and honored to wave my American Flag on Memorial Day and every other day. It shouldn't take a holiday for everyone to say "thank you" to the soldiers but I think we tend to forget what they are giving up to fight for our freedom. Another mom from cafemom who is a military wife said that her husband served before Sept. 11 and has been in Iraq now for the past 2 years and that he strongly believes that pulling out now will only strengthen the "bad guys" and they'll be stronger than ever and we'd be having it come back to our "backyard" again. They are fighting and dying over there to keep this from happening and we tend to forget about the war and their sacrifices because it's been going on so long and there is no support for them any longer. What we don't see or hear about, we don't think about. I have and always will support the troops and what the war means for our country. I'm a daughter of a veteran, a cousin to many veterans (Jay, Jeff, Matthew) and great niece to an uncle who lost his life in WWII. So I thank you to all of you who served and to the future generations of my family who may someday wish to serve. Matthew has just finished serving our country recently and is home safely. Thank you Matthew for all that you did for Americans. Thank you for our FREEDOM. Thank you for keeping America safe. God Bless!