It Is The Soldier
Nov 9, 2005 15:30:16 GMT -6
Post by Moderator on Nov 9, 2005 15:30:16 GMT -6
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.
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Written by: Father Denis Edward O'Brien, M.M. USMC
Father Denis O'Brien was born in Dallas on October 8, 1923, and entered the seminary in 1941. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he immediately enlisted in the Marine Corps.
He served in the Pacific, taking part in the battle of Peleliu where 1,336 Marines lost their lives and 6,032 were wounded. Later, as chaplain of the First Marine Division, he returned to Peleliu in 1994 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that battle and to pray for all who died there. They were, as he described them, his brothers and all Marines. He often said, "We never left anyone behind."
After he left the military service, he went into the Maryknoll Seminary in New York and then on to be a missionary to the poor, the needy, the terminally ill and the "unwanted" in East Africa and Mexico.
He died on August 29, 2002.
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It Is The Soldier is part of What Is A Veteran?
The entire text is posted here ...
militarysalute.proboards.com/thread/247
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Father Denis Edward O'Brien, M.M. USMC
Father Denis O'Brien was born in Dallas on October 8, 1923, and entered the seminary in 1941. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he immediately enlisted in the Marine Corps.
He served in the Pacific, taking part in the battle of Peleliu where 1,336 Marines lost their lives and 6,032 were wounded. Later, as chaplain of the First Marine Division, he returned to Peleliu in 1994 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that battle and to pray for all who died there. They were, as he described them, his brothers and all Marines. He often said, "We never left anyone behind."
After he left the military service, he went into the Maryknoll Seminary in New York and then on to be a missionary to the poor, the needy, the terminally ill and the "unwanted" in East Africa and Mexico.
He died on August 29, 2002.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It Is The Soldier is part of What Is A Veteran?
The entire text is posted here ...
militarysalute.proboards.com/thread/247