Thread: Our Freedom Isn't Free!

Originally Posted by Keepmelaffn

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 of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.




I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea.
Of unmarked graves in Arlington .
NO FREEDOM ISN'T FREE



Enjoy Your Freedom
and
God Bless Our Troops.

AMEN - No Freedom is not free. There is a price to be paid.

Thank you for sharing this. God bless our troops, and their families. Such great sacrifice!

I hope that I never take my freedom for granted.

Originally Posted by Jamiestitcher62

Originally Posted by coloradosky

Thank you for sharing. Our service men and women are sacrificing their lives 24/7 to keep us safe here in our/their homeland. What tears me up is what do they get when they return? If they were on the front lines, they have to try to leave the battle demons behind; some need special medical attention; adjust from war surroundings to home life; and a very good chance of having no job! When I first entered the job force I can remember hearing that someone who previously worked in the company was returning from duty and that the company would find a position for him within the company if his previous job no longer existed. This was considered "standard practice". Is this "standard practice" now? We OWE our service men and women for our freedom for the rest of their lives.

I heard on a radio program yesterday that the unemployment rate for Veterans is 22%, so apparently it isn't standard practice anymore.

My father worked for the B&O Railroad during WWII but didn't use his 'essential industry' draft exemption. When he came home from the Pacific and the occupation of Japan in 1946, he returned to railroading but his seniority dropped because of the years at war. Those who stayed behind were able to outbid him for positions because of their length of service to the railroad.

In our state, veterans receive extra points applying for government jobs. I don't believe there has ever been one employment policy in the private sector. More power to the companies that employ vets.

That brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing the beautiful poem.

Amen! Great poem!