Echoes From the Campfire

MEMORIAL DAY — a day to remember the fallen — those who gave their lives in service to their country.  My Mom lost a cousin on that terrible day in June 1944, on the beaches of Normandy.  My Uncle James died in 1966 in Vietnam.  Uncle Bobby, though not killed in action, served as a corpsman in Port Moresby during World War II.  He lost his mind seeing the death that laid around him.  He could not function in society and was placed in an asylum.  Finally, with new medication and treatments after nearly twenty years he was released but he still couldn’t totally relate in society.  He couldn’t drive, hold a job; things we take for granted.  Memorial Day is not a day of celebration, but rather a time of reflection.  
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                         The Soldier Has Come Home

                           Lay the green sod on me
                           carve my name in stone,
                           lay the green sod on me
                         the soldier has come home.

                         Don’t mourn for me, my darling
                            don’t cry when I am gone,
                         don’t mourn for me, my darling
                            the soldier will come home.

                         My friends have gone before me
                         and laid their tired bodies down,
                         my friends have gone before me
                           to prepare the resting ground.

                           Let me go to sleep now,
                         to march and fight no more,
                           let me go to sleep now
                         I’m tired, my body’s sore.

                           So lay the green sod on me
                         put the wreath upon my stone,
                           lay the green sod on me
                         the soldier has come home.
                                –Barry Sadler
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                          Last Full Measure of Devotion
                   In the long and honored history of America
                   There are names that shine like beacons in the night
                   The Patriots whose vision gave us meaning
                   Who kept the lamp of freedom burning bright
                   In the long and honored history of America
                   There are those that paid the last and final price
                   Who were called upon by chance, or desperate circumstance
                   To make the ultimate sacrifice
                   A grateful nation bows its head in sorrow
                   And in thanks for guaranteeing our tomorrow
                   The last full measure of devotion
                   That’s what they gave to the cause
                   The last full measure of devotion
                   And though they cannot hear our applause
                   We honor them forever and keep alive their story
                   Pay tribute to their lives and give them all the glory
                   The last full measure of devotion
                   Beyond the call of duty were their deeds
                   The last full measure of devotion
                   They gave themselves to serve the greater need
                   And for those who did survive
                   And came back home alive
                   They join in praise of comrades who were slain
                   And highly resolve, most higly resolve
                   That these dead shall not have died in vain.
                           –unknown