Saturday, May 24, 2014

DAY 76 - COUNTING DOWN TO THE 50TH

Good Morning, Class of '64
American Military - Norman Rockwell
Ballad of Sammy Taylor

John Posey – 5/18/13

Sammy Taylor was a good kid, 
as everyone could see
He was destined for greatness 
unknown to you and me.
From the hills of West Virginia, 
a place called Whittlers’ Bend.
He left one day in ’66
never to return again.

Folks all remember Sammy for
 the goodness in his soul.
A smile and sparkle in his eyes 
glittered just like gold.
Sammy considered all the 
people as family to him.
When he was called to fight for 
peace in a place called simply, 'Nam'.

He grew up a hunter and 
loved his fishin’ too
So things the outdoors offered
 Sammy weren’t all that new.
‘Nam' was not the West Virginia Mountains 
that he knew.
The morning he woke up 
on a hill called 14 Blue.

Charlie had been active there 
just the day before
And signs that he was very close 
could not be ignored.
While all remained quiet 
throughout that August day
Little did anybody know that 
night would bring hell to pay.

It was just about a quarter to three, 
and all was strangely quiet,
When the chatter of an M16 
broke the silence of the night.
There was a pop and then a 
flare gave vision to the night….
A voice was heard to say, 
“Charlie’s on his way and he’s 
coming here to fight.”

Now, Sammy had already seen 
his share of hell on earth
And Charlie’s demons gave him one 
more chance to prove his worth.
A dedicated VC soldier was
 always an awesome foe
But nothing will surpass the courage
 Sammy would soon show.

Sammy found himself in front 
of an insane VC charge
He barely had the time to yell, 
“They’re comin’, Look Out, Sarge!”
A VC grenade proved to be 
his last courageous test
When a West Virginia mountain 
boy covered it with his chest.

Now, there’s a house in Whittlers’ Bend 
with a medal on a wall.
But the plaque hanging there 
beside it cannot tell it all---
How Sammy Taylor went outside, 
one morning, just to play,
Then, some years later, gave his all, 
in a place so far away.
 
Greater love hath no man than this,
 that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
 
 
 A hero is someone who has 
given his or her life to 
something bigger than oneself.
Joseph Campbell
 
On thy grave the rain shall fall 
from the eyes of a mighty nation!
Thomas William Parsons
 
We come, 
not to mourn our dead soldiers, 
but to praise them.
Francis A. Walker 
 
And they who for their country 
die shall fill an honored grave, 
for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, 
and beauty weeps the brave.
Joseph Rodman Drake
 
It doesn’t take a hero to 
order men into battle.
 It takes a hero to be one of 
those men who goes into battle.
Norman Schwarzkopf
 
War Hero - Norman Rockwell
Like so many mountain boys in those years that we look back to now, some of the boys of 1964, our friends, chose or were given no choice as the military path out of the valley. Some went to war, and some escaped it. Only one didn't come back.
 
They left us as boys from small valley towns and farms. They returned to us as men that some of us chose to marry and begin our families with.   
 
If they were under-appreciated in those turbulent years of the sixties and early seventies, they could never be more appreciated and honored than they are now. Their classmates, the friends they knew from the old brick schoolhouse at the edge of town, remember them and thank them for leaving the familiar life they knew so that we could remain safely in ours.
 
Courage is contagious.
 When a brave man takes a stand, 
the spines of others are stiffened.
Billy Graham

In Church - Norman Rockwell
They are dead; but they live 
in each Patriot’s breast, 
And their names are engraven 
on honor’s bright crest.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 
Norman Rockwell
What Would You Have Me Do –
A Memorial Day Tribute

John Posey

Oh gallant sons of glory,
Whose years were so precious few --
In payment for the debt I owe,
What would you have me do?

If only I could hear,
What question would you ask?
To pay this debt of honor,
Just what would be my task?

Could your immortal spirits
Meet me face to face,
What would you have me do
To calm your resting place?

Could I breach the chasm of death
And ask you to answer true,
In payment for the lives you gave,
What would you have me do?
Norman Rockwell
Patriotism is supporting your 
country all the time, and your 
government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain


Who kept the faith and fought the fight; 
The glory theirs, the duty ours.
Wallace Bruce
 
And I’m proud to be an American, 
where at least I know I’m free. 
And I won’t forget the men who died, 
who gave that right to me.
Lee Greenwood 

No comments:

Post a Comment