TO BE A VETEREN

It sure is nice to be a veteran
Of the wars that came our way
We don't need movies or T.V. shows
The real war plague us day to
day The scenes are all real, no actors needed
Long lost buddies take their place
They are the ones who caught the big one
And now they're ghosts without a face
Look at all the fun we're having
Trying to place a face and name
To the friends who did not make it
To not remember and fell shame
Did sergeant York and Audie Murphy
Feel this aching to the bone
I'm sure they did, For they were veterans Their deeds were written, Their souls unkn
own I know they must have felt the heartaches
Relived some memories in the night
Woke sweating, Heart a pounding
Trying to scream with all their mig
ht Yeah, it's nice to be a veteran
To be alive to tell the tale
But listen closely to our silenc
e And you may hear our silent wail.

LCDR R.J Prinselaar, USCGR Retired
Copyright © 1992

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
1872-1918

In Flanders fields the poppies
bow Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders field

He was in the Navy during WWII.

He is not with us now, but he will

be honored this day for the war he

fought, the lives he saved, and the

Democracy he helped preserve.

My Youngest son, Jason.
I'm so proud of him
and although he wasn't
in any war, he is a true
Patroit, and was willing
to to fight for the right of
you and I in the United States.