FriendBurst Blog

This write is to commemorate those soldiers that have given their lives in the fight for our freedom and to also bring back to our conciousness those we have yet to welcome home.

There is a movement to in act a national day to “Welcome Home our Vietnam Vets”, this write is but a humble tug to that endeavor.

The Old And The Glory
By A-Rhodi

There he is again sitting alone
At the freeway off-ramp,
He has no legs, just a wheelchair,
He holds up a cardboard sign
That states he’s a Vietnam Vet,
Though homeless,
He is proud that he has served,
For he almost gave it all,
As any true soldier would

His sign says he needs money and food,
His bedroll tells me he’s found shelter,
I pull my car over to talk to him,
I’d like to know more about what he’s after
As I approach him he doesn’t say much,
I shake his hand
And hand him 40 bucks
And sit along the roadside too
It seemed such an odd thing to do

I notice “Old Glory” proudly displayed
Tightly fastened to the back of his wheelchair
In this early light of day
“Old glory” begins to wave
“Of all the places, why here?” I ask him,
“Tell me your story. Why do you sit here
On such a beautiful morning?”

He looked at me with tired eyes,
He scratched at his grey beard
And hunched up his shoulders
“Son,” so he began,
“Memorial Day
Is just 2 weeks a way,
And I have a bus to catch.
You see the Greyhound calls to me,
It’s going to take me to Washington D.C.
For what was once lost is now found
And there upon some hallowed ground
There’s a name placed
Upon a wall
A name I knew well and do recall
A name that belonged to one
Of this nation’s missing sons
A name many thought was lost
But now I hear paid the ultimate cost
And I want to show my respect,
It will be me and some other Vets
Meeting up there to show
The memories we can’t let go

For you see we fought through
The horrors of Vietnam,
Through the Jungle swamps,
And the Napalm
We made it past tunnels
And over the ridge
We made it back home
When many never did
And though many years have past
Filled with regrets and shadows cast
Just like our tour when duty calles
We stand together and we stand tall
When another bother’s name is
Found up on the wall.”

I shook his hand and walk away
And sat back inside my car
I pulled back on the road
But didn’t go very far
When I glanced back in my mirror
He seemed taller in his chair
And “Old Glory” waved in the air
~

On this Memorial Day, remember all the fallen soldiers, men and women, who gave up their lives for our freedom.

http://www.thewall-usa.com/

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. Since it first went on line in 1996 it has evolved into something more. It is now also a place of healing for those affected by one of the most divisive wars in our nation’s history.

“If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.
And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.
Major Michael Davis O’Donnell
1 January 1970
Dak To, Vietnam
Listed as KIA February 7, 1978