Just A Common Soldier
(A SOLDIER DIED TODAY)
By A. Lawrence Vaincourt 1985
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes, to his neighbors,
His tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened
For they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer,
For a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary
And quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family,
Quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing,
Though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories,
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier,
Goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow, who
In times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
A politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are sometimes disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It's so easy to forget them
For it was so long ago,
That our Bills of our country
Went to battle, but we know...
It is not the politicians,
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician
With his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier,
Who has sworn to defend,
His home, his kin and country
And would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us...
We may need his kind again.
For when countries are in conflict,
Then we find the soldier's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles,
That the politicans always start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In a newspaper that would say...
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
But the freedom that they fought for,
And the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument today
and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English~
