I have a friend,O such a friend.
he has no home you see;
and so,Mom, I'd really like
to bring him home with me.

   Dear Son  we don't mind
if someone comes home with you:
I'm sure he could stay
perhaps a week or two.

   Dear Mom and Dad,
there's something you must know,
now please don't be alarmed;
my friend in battle was recently shot.
and now he has no arm.

   Dear Son:  don't afraid
to bring him home with you, perhaps he could
stay a day or two.

   Dear Mom and Dad:
but he's not just a friend,
he's like a brother, too;
that's why I want him home with us,
and like a son to you.
Before you give your answer,
Mom, I really don't want to beg;
but my friend in battle was recently wounded,
and also lost a leg.

   Dear Son:
it hurts me so much to say,
the answer must be no;
for Dad and I have no time
for a boy who is crippled so.
So months went by and a letter came.
it said their son had died;
when they read the cause of death.
the shock was "suicide".

   Days later when the casket came.
Draped in the Army's flag:
they saw their son lying there.
without an arm, and without a leg.

Author unknown

Almighty God, whose will it is that we be leaders of men, hear us as we come to you for guidance in this awesome responsibility.  Let us never forget our duty in the men  whom lead.
May we instill in them the qualities of loyalty, 
integrity and duty.  Grant us the patience in dealing with the  mistakes of our fellow man.
Let us never forget that no man is perfect,
but that perfection for fragile humans is trying each day to be better than the day before.  Give us courage, O Lord, in the face of danger, keep us pure in heart, clean in mind, and strong in purpose.
Remind us that wisdom is not gained in an hour,
a day, or in a year, but it is a process that continues all the days of our lives.  Keep ever before us our goal which is  not to perpetrate war, but to safeguard peace and preserve  your great gift to man, Freedom. 
May you always be near to guide us in decisions,
comfort us in our failures, and keep us humble
in our successes.  We ask your divine blessings and 
leadership as we discharge the honor and responsibility  of leading men  in the service of our country. 
Walk close to us always, our father, that we may not fall.
AMEN 

"Say, buddy, can you lend a dime?' came words so firm and clear
His clothes were filthy.  He had a beard.   His breath was strong of beer.
I shrank away from my fellowman.   His looks were a sight to see
I couldn't give what little I had.  He asked too much of me.

He carried a sign around his neck "Vietnam stole life from me!
Some lost an arm.  Some gave a leg, that you might be kept free.
Not me!  It took my will away.  I returned to hate and scorn
After fighting a war, I did not want, coming back to where I was born.

Where other wars won honors, and gained medals for those who gave
In mine, fellowmen were captured, and became an enemies slave
And so you see, I've turned away, from things I once held dear
I do not mean to trouble you, nor cause you any fear."

And saying so he turned away, another soul to seek
I wondered if I had the guts to turn the other cheek
For who was I to be so great, to have this right to judge
When surely hidden in my life, were wrongs that left a smudge

"Hey, buddy, Won't you have a dime, and here's a dollar too
I'm sorry I cannot do more, but I shall pray for you
I do not understand your looks, nor how you choose to live
But as a fellow child of God, this now, I freely give

I wish you goodness as you go, your will to one day gain
I wish your memories grow kind, and life not cause you pain
I wish you blessings many, where ever you may go
I pray they be extended upon everyone you know

I'm sorry that I chose to judge, and that I shrank away
I ask you to forgive me, for my earlier action today"
I swore I saw a change in him, and within his eyes a light
He brushed aside what looked a tear, and walked off in the night.

So friend, take a moment as you go.  Don't turn from distasteful life
For the one you chose to turn from, is someone's father, son or wife
Just send up a prayer of gratitude, for all you have this day
And seek God's wisdom for a plan, to find a wiser way

Where all will love their fellowman, and none hungry will there be
No filthy clothes, no dirty beards, no fear for you or me
No wars to mar the surface, of an Earth God meant as free
But a way to make things better in the world for you and me.

Old Jimmy Rodgers song

In America there's the Irish, Italians and the Swede.  There's Japanese and Mexicans, unique in the life they lead.  Then there's the Black Americans, the Polish and the Swiss.  Let's not forget the Indians, in the immigration dish.  See the English and the French (who fought a bitter war)  Now their sons and daughters unite, on this far and distant shore.  The Jews survived a Holocaust.  The Germans fled their own land.  Laotians and the Chinese, touched upon our golden sand.  The list, you see, is lengthy, for whom life was 'bitter gall.' But I can sense their courage, as they left behind their all.   They faced so many trials, in an 'unknown future' plan.  They sought to overcome the past, in this freedom loving land.  The Black Americans once came, from far across the sea.  The Indian Americans were here, they say, before both you and me.  Our 'melting pot' is heavy, large enough to hold each man.  It simmers, slowly cooking, to blend the common man. But freedom is not freedom, if it seeks to mold each one, so that they are identical, when all is said and done.  Though our land is overflowing, by those from here and there; there is concern for those with less.  Oh, can we cease to care?  There's Petowski from Missouri, Charlie Young from Tennessee, Walking Bear in Arizona, and in California.....me.  God Bless America, my friend, and do I need say more?  May it maintain its worthiness from sea to sandy shore
                    Copyright Vickey Stamps 1994

We propped him up and brushed the dirt away from his swollen lips, A
ragged breath escaped him as the guns boomed from our ships. In his
shattered arm he tried to clutch and protect an American Flag, He didn't
seem to realize that it was little more than a tattered rag.

 "I've got to plant her high, sir, that's my job you understand, Over
there on the hill behind me, it's the highest point of land. She's got
to fly high for our boys to see wherever they may be, I promised I'd get
her up there: It's my responsibility. Her field of blue like the skies
back home, mustn't carry any dirt, The stars so white call a state to
mind, a state that mustn't hurt. Her blood red stripes remind us of our
mother land before, The white bands separated us - but that was another war

Will there ever be an end, sir, are we fighting just in vain? We always
say this is the last, then the guns sound off again.
Will you help me make it up the hill and help me plant her deep?"

 He didn't know he couldn't walk, he couldn't move his feet, His eyes
slowly closed and his blood ran red on the flag he loved so well, His
shattered arm released it's hold and his hand away from it fell.

 With tears and sweat streaming down like rivers of mud on our face, We
gently took the flag from him; we'd plant it in his place. Amid the
shots and confusion we struggled an inch at a time, We'd get Old Glory
on that hill, we'd make that soldier's climb.

Well, we got her there and stood her up and braced her good and tight,
and let me tell you, one and all, she sure was a beautiful sight. Her
fields of stripes were torn and frayed and blood ran down her bands, But
every soldier in her sight had his helmet in his hands.

 Every time I see her waving, it's like she is saying to me, "As long as
there are men like you, Old Glory will fly free."
 

 Joyce Gauthier
21 Hollow Road
Brimfield, MA 01010-9786
413-245-3359
 

     What is Christmas without Daddy, it's lonely for me
     There has never been a Christmas with Daddy,  you see
     I don't even remember what he looks like you see...
     Daddy went to fight a battle, before I was three

     I have a picture Mommy gave me , of a soldier so proud
     She said he used to sing the carols of Christmas, so loud
     Now I sing the carols for him, and sit by the tree
     To guard the present__still unopened, To Daddy, Love Me.

     The lights upon the tree  this Christmas, twinkle ever so bright
      I know before the season's over, he'll come in the night
     I have visions of my daddy, feel his love, don't you see?
     His love is in that lonely package, that's under the tree
     Yes, his love's wrapped in that lonely package, under the tree...

    ImAuthor4U

Our Flag is a glorious ensign,
Our Nation in epitoOur Flagme;
Its red...our blood,
Its stars...our world,
Its blue...our loyalty!

Now, with this liberty threatened,
We must keep faith with our Flag;
Give our best to God and our country
And never let our interest lag.
We must pledge to it new allegiance,
The Republic too, and then stand
Our Nation under God, indivisible,
With justice for all in the land.

Our Flag is far more than a bunting,
This poem, and prayer, prophecy...
Is a Nation led of Almighty God,
America, Land of the Free!

              Written by Jessie Whiteside Finks

         It is in a distant land... in a city far away..
         We have loved ones who long to be free
         Now our holiday has gone and the men are still not home
        Can't those people hear their silent pleas
        Chorus:
        Let them pick up the pieces,  send our men back home
        Mend their shattered lives and carry on...
         Let them pick up the pieces, send our soldiers home
        To mend their shattered lives and carry on

        There are times that are gone when the moment has passed on
         Like the flash of a baby's first smile
         When he takes his first step, and his daddy's still not home
         These are joys that are lost

         There are broken-hearted mothers, loving sisters and brothers
         Wives and children, for whom time stands still
         Though they try to make each day, with their loved ones far away
          It is  hard to be strong and have a will
          To Chorus:
          What a day that will be, when our soldiers will be free
         There'll be banners all over this great land
         There'll be tears of happiness, and our soldiers will be blessed
          When once more on American soil they stand...
                                                         ImAuthor4u

             You are my love...you're going far away
             Your country needs you...but I have to stay
             The train is coming...it's coming down the track
             You're going to war, but, you may not come back

            The whistles blowing, it sounds so sad and blue
             I'm going back home now...to wait for you
             I'm so lonesome, sad and blue
             I don't know what I'll do without you

             This was to be our wedding day
             But our country called you so far away
             Instead of the chaple, standing side by side
             We're on this platform, saying our good byes

             Oh, I'm so lonesome, sad and blue
             I don't know what I'll so with out you...
 

ImAuthor4u