Once A Warrior

Once  A  Warrior   It has now been what seems so long ago But to the soldiers that fought 'The War' It remains to seem as only yesterday Vietnam ... 5 August 1965-7 May 1975 'The War' that was fought by our youth Youngsters of yesterday's today That still lives within the days nightmare As middle aged adults Young men and women Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, years old That had not yet experienced their lives ... Willingly stood proudly to possibly Give up what they had yet to find Exposed to the worst possible conditions To witness daily nightmares That continue to play within the minds Of those who only want to forget The pictures that they see With mail call so far in-between And first isolation from family Bringing strong images from home They stood their solid ground Did their duty ... Paid and continue to pay their cost For whom did they make the sacrifice The answer is far more than clear We as a Country should Hang our heads in shame For the lack of support Our young Warriors were given And so many years latter Are given still They fought stronger and braver In the defense of our Country Than any one of us could possibly See ourselves doing So young were the ones who Held close their dieing Buddies And heard their final prayers ... Making promises of visits to families If they themselves were to make it home As we sat in our easy chairs Watching the evening news   It was they that held center stage In all that we were watching As a warm meal awaited us And sleep was to be found Upon soft pillow and matress ... They picked at a ration Laid their heads upon hard ground And prayed to see another morning sun Visiting home within their deams To awaken to yet another time of Hell Sprayed from above the deadly agent That still brings sleepless nights And flash backs of yesterday To men and women whose hair Is now growing silver Alone in a foreign world They waged battle that was No longer a child's game Only to find that we raised Our signs in protest Too long to place in honor 'The Wall' With engraved letters Of Fifty-Eight Thousand Whose names cannot be Individually placed Upon any one poets page By their sheer number There has been one poet that has tried And will continue to try To place all the names to be seen Without pages upon pages upon pages Of names to leave one name behind For one American's labor of love Given out of extreme pride and respect For those that paid the ultimate sacrifice ...  ... For one man That continues to pay the cost And writes his experiences upon a poet's page I dedicate my words to you And to every Warrior That still today holds title I salute you for your patriotism And commend you for your honor http://vietnamresearch.com/history/stats.html Hostile deaths: 47,359 Non-hostile deaths: 10,797 Total: 58,156 (including men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties). Highest state death rate: West Virginia--84.1. (The national average death rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000). WIA: 303,704 - 153,329 required hospitalization, 50,375 who did not. Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. 5,283 lost limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII. MIA: 2,338 POW: 766, of whom 114 died in captivity. Draftees vs. volunteers: 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S. armed forces members were drafted during WWII) Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam. Reservists KIA: 5,977 National Guard: 6,140 served; 101 died.   AspiringAngel TRIPLES with EMMA             Once A Warrior

Reviews

[Morning Song]

What a delight to get to read your words here again, dear friend. I've missed the tenderness and gentleness of your words. You always have such a beautiful way of bringing us what lies so deeply in your soul. I remember the Viet Nam era well, and I've been to the "Wall". I had no idea when I went there that it would affect me so emotionally. But when I looked at how small the names were, and how long the wall was, and realized all the ramifications, I totally lost it. Your poem brings all those feelings back. And....

Your poem makes me realize why I've missed you.

Luvs ya to pieces....
Jeri

[Kiara]

you never cease to amaze : )
this is truly a beautiful and compelling tribute
to all soldiers! Im am so glad you have
written this because it has changed a
part of me...... to honor those who have fought
and risked their lives so thank you -arabella

[Wildecat]

Dear Lesa, I am a Vietnam Veteran, and this poem really touched, my heart, every word you said was true. I too salute
those brave men and women and our brave soldiers who are now fighting in Iraq. This will go into my favorites. thanks Lesa.

[Lance]

I haven't a clue how you have your writing placed in such glamour and style, but onto the poem of dedication I must say they deserve so much our praise. Yes, this is wonderful! Lance.

[Rain]

What an absolutely beautiful tribute to our young soldiers. Whether you believe the war was right ,or wrong...doesn't matter.
They deserve to be honored, and you did that. The truth is, right or wrong, when we left..Pol Pot was free to kill millions.
"Only the dead have seen an end to war," Thank you, for remembering. Rain..

[Donna DeLong Matthews a..]

Beautiful My Friend
Hugs and Love
D

[Guardian]

This was absolutely beautiful. It really made me think long and hard about the people who are fighting and dying for me. I really loved it and it is a worthy tribute to their sacrifice.

[Frank Terino]

this is a beautiful, fitting tribute to a special group of people who keep our country free and I am glad to have read it.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you for that poignant reminder, Aspiring Angel. Two of my childhood friends who went to that war now lie in soldier's graves, forever young. I went too, but as a sailor, not a soldier. May those brave ones always be remembered.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

My brother served in Viet Nam. He was a field medic. Very nice tribute. So many lives lost in more ways than one.