Good Morning, Class of '64
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| Norman Rockwell |
country all the time, and your
government when it deserves it.
Who kept the faith and fought the fight;
The glory theirs, the duty ours.
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