All Military Deaths Should be Treated With Honor

As of September 25th, 1,995 fellow military members have died in Afghanistan; 17644 have been wounded. To most Americans it is just a number, for those who have served it is more than that. It is real people, real loss, and real grief.  One more injustice to military members was corrected by President Obama in July of 2011:

"As Commander in Chief, I am deeply grateful for the service of all our men and women in uniform, and grieve for the loss of those who suffer from the wounds of war  seen and unseen. Since taking office, I've been committed to removing the stigma associated with the unseen wounds of war, which is why I've worked to expand our mental health budgets, and ensure that all our men and women in uniform receive the care they need.  As a next step and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the military chain of command, I have also decided to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone. This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly. This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely. They didn't die because they were weak. And the fact that they didn't get the help they needed must change. Our men and women in uniform have borne the incredible burden of our wars, and we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation."

Being on an Air Force Base the day a KIA soldier arrived and the turnout of the public, I wrote this prose:

Why Memorial Day

 There were eight in all

 Dressed in Uncle Sam’s Sunday best,

 Worn with pride and standing tall.

 Representing the finest of America

 Seven, not quite adults but no longer children

 And one older, hair of gray, face cut like stone,

 Who had been here one too many times, way too often,

 Served as their leader, mentor, and father for those without one.

 Their duty was important, but with little fanfare,

 They stood watch over a container holding priceless contents.

 Covered by the most sacred of national symbols

 Inside was Private First Class

 Name, gender, race none of those labels important except

 Private First Class was an American whose life was given

 While wearing a military uniform,

 And represented all those who have in the past discharged or retired.

 The Death of this young American

 Insignificant to most Americans, even most of those in the area.

 Reported on Page 3, Section B of the Newspaper, No Front Page!

 Only a small crowd gathered, no dignitaries, no motorcades,

 For you see Private First Class died overseas in war

 But not by an enemy bullet or bomb even by mistake of friendly fire,

 No one knows how Private First Class died, but, alas no purple heart.

 No medals, no stories of heroism, just a good warrior.

 The skypilot looks towards the clouds as if

 To guide the soul of Private First Class to heaven.

 As the gun salute commences,

 Friends and Family startled by deadly noise of the rifles

 Display their grief and loss by tears, quite sobs, a heartfelt prayer.

 The eight men and women with exact precision remove

 Our Country’s National Ensign from atop the coffin,

 Ceremoniously folds into a perfect right triangle.

 Three spent round rifle rounds in the flag are placed,

“For God”, “For Country”, “For the Corps”.

 Saddened, the grayed hair battled weary Marine steps forward

 Takes the folded flag and the sounds of taps is heard.

 About face, and he faces the mother of Private First Class

 And as places the folded flag in her shaking arms

 He hears himself say “On Behalf of a Grateful Nation”

An extra tear falls on the folded flag,

 Private First Class was one of his warriors and

 Almost twenty years of life summarized in less than forty minutes.

 No fanfare, no outpouring of community support,

 No one cares

 Except the Private First Class’s family, friends, and the Gunny.

Copyright by R Long, 2012