A Soldier Died Today

(Author Anonymous)

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast.
And he sat around the VFW telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies:, they were heroes, everyone.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened, for they knew wherof he spoke.
But, we'll hear his tales no longer, for old Bob has passed away
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

No, he won't be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family, quietly going on his way,
And the world won't note his passing:, 'tho a soldier died today.
When politicians leave the earth, their bodies lay in state.
While thousands note their passing and proclaim they were great,
Papers tell of their life stories from the time they were young.
But, the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
Some jerk who breaks his promise 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?
The politicians stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportinate to the service 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 our Bobs, Jims, and Johnnys went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with the 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 really want some cop-out with his ever waffling stand?
Or would you want 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 praises,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in the paper that might say,
"Our Country is in Mourning, For a Soldier Died Today."

-- Contributed by Rev. H. Scot Thompson,
Chaplain, Mt. Vernon, IL VFW Post 9233