Remembering those who serve. . .

Uponastar

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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"The Sentry"


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand

at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

 
Last year my BIL was in Iraq for Christmas...but he is safe at home now:xmas:


Lots of prayers for those who have family/friends serving over seas this Holiday Season!!
 
Thanks

As a vet, Thank you for posting this...As a grateful American, thank you to all who continue to serve both at home and overseas. You are all in my prayers...sometimes even I forget that the reason I can enjoy WDW with my family is because right now someone somewhere is watching our backs...
 

Uponastar

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
As a vet, Thank you for posting this...As a grateful American, thank you to all who continue to serve both at home and overseas. You are all in my prayers...sometimes even I forget that the reason I can enjoy WDW with my family is because right now someone somewhere is watching our backs...

Beautifully put!
Thank you for posting!
 

Laura

22
Premium Member
My BIL is on his 2cnd tour in Iraq. Thak you for posting and thank you to those serving.

My husband will be spending Christmas in Iraq this year (he's been there since September).

This is his 3rd Christmas out of the 7 that we've been married that he's been deployed.
 
Thank you also!!!

My husband will be spending Christmas in Iraq this year (he's been there since September).

This is his 3rd Christmas out of the 7 that we've been married that he's been deployed.
You, and all military wives deserve as much of a thank you as your husbands. My wife was a "military brat", her father spent 26 years in the Air Force during WWII, Korea, and Nam, and her mother, bless her soul, never let her forget it...she married me after the first year of my enlistment and moved to Washington D.C. where I was stationed at the time. When it came time for me to leave her and follow orders, she was completely supportive. Even though I couldn't wait to return to her, we both knew what I was doing at the time was important. I always figured any awards I received for what I did were half hers, Lord knows you don't do it for the money. I always knew my crew were only ever as good as their spouses and made sure they treated them like it...we were all a tight knit group.


Today you make the same sacrifice...I salute you...and my family and I thank all of you! You are all in my prayers.

If you read this...remember...if you see a service person in your travels to WDW, a great place to forget about what happens in this world even if it's just for a week, take a second to stop and just say thank you...it's all they ask, nothing more.
 

Laura

22
Premium Member
You, and all military wives deserve as much of a thank you as your husbands. My wife was a "military brat", her father spent 26 years in the Air Force during WWII, Korea, and Nam, and her mother, bless her soul, never let her forget it...she married me after the first year of my enlistment and moved to Washington D.C. where I was stationed at the time. When it came time for me to leave her and follow orders, she was completely supportive. Even though I couldn't wait to return to her, we both knew what I was doing at the time was important. I always figured any awards I received for what I did were half hers, Lord knows you don't do it for the money. I always knew my crew were only ever as good as their spouses and made sure they treated them like it...we were all a tight knit group.


Today you make the same sacrifice...I salute you...and my family and I thank all of you! You are all in my prayers.

If you read this...remember...if you see a service person in your travels to WDW, a great place to forget about what happens in this world even if it's just for a week, take a second to stop and just say thank you...it's all they ask, nothing more.

Aww. Each deployment is easier than the last. Now it's more of a routine than a shock to the system (for me and the kids anyway). My husband is amazing at what he does (he's a sniper platoon leader) so I'm happy to make the sacrifice in order that the Iraqi families can have a better life. I know his platoon has made a lot of progress in Anbar Province so it's worth it. My minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the brutality the families over there have to endure.
 

Legacy

Well-Known Member
Aww. Each deployment is easier than the last. Now it's more of a routine than a shock to the system (for me and the kids anyway). My husband is amazing at what he does (he's a sniper platoon leader) so I'm happy to make the sacrifice in order that the Iraqi families can have a better life. I know his platoon has made a lot of progress in Anbar Province so it's worth it. My minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the brutality the families over there have to endure.

I didn't realize your hubby was a sniper...


He and my dad will definitely have to meet now (my dad served two tours as a Scout Sniper in Nam).
 

Laura

22
Premium Member
I didn't realize your hubby was a sniper...


He and my dad will definitely have to meet now (my dad served two tours as a Scout Sniper in Nam).

Ooooh awesome! Andy would love to meet another sniper from back in the day! :D

Andy was a scout/sniper his first enlistment, a sniper school instructor his second, and now he's a sniper platoon leader in his 3rd. So that's all he's ever done!
 

Uponastar

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I didn't know your husband was in the service, Laura, let alone in Iraq!
Thank you to him and to you and your family for your sacrifices.
 

Tramp

New Member
God, Country, Corps: Semper Fi!

Thank YOU for this tribute to our troops.

Having spent two Christmases in a God-forsaken combat zone, I can tell you that this is, by far, the most difficult holiday to be away from home. Young men and women, who not long ago awoke on Christmas morning to the magic of Santa Claus, now risk sudden and unexpected death standing vigilant at freedom's door.
How does it come to be that things that so deserve our undying gratitude are so often taken for granted?

God bless our brave troops and their families during this Christmas season.




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Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,

In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.



I had come down the chimney, with presents to give

and to see just who in this home did live



As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,

no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.

On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.



With medals and badges, awards of all kind,

a sobering thought soon came to my mind.

For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.

This was the home of a U.S. Marine.



I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,

so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.

And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,

Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.



He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,

Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.

Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?

Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?



His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.

I soon understood, this was more than a man.

For I realized the families that I saw that night,

owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.



Soon around the Nation, the children would play,

And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,

because of Marines like this one lying here.



I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,

on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.

Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.

I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.



He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,

"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice

I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.

My life is my God, my country, my Corps."



With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,

I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.



I watched him for hours, so silent and still.

I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.

So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,

and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.

Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,

with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.

And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,

and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.



I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,

this guardian of honor so willing to fight.

But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,

said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right,

Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.
 

Iakona

Member
My husband will be spending Christmas in Iraq this year (he's been there since September).

This is his 3rd Christmas out of the 7 that we've been married that he's been deployed.


My wife's family os all on the west coast and communication is not the greatest so we just got his address. We are sending a package out Monday. My son's classroom is going to do xmas cards for him and company.

By the way, I really apreciate your positive attitude. My wife took the last deployment really hard because he was in Fallujah and detonating IED's. Hopefully this time she will handle it better.
 

Tramp

New Member
So often forgotten...

A moment of prayer for those who will never come home for Christmas.

Rest In Eternal Peace!

01_n061214_wreaths.jpg

Arlington National Cemetary
 

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