A Name Upon This Wall

     As I said yesterday, my friend Bim,(Eileen) inspired this poem when she mentioned that she was going to go down to the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. in November in honor of Veteran’s Day. She asked me if I had ever written anything about Viet Nam veterans. I had written some material about soldiers, sailors, and airmen,  (see “Thanks To Those Who Served” and “From Lexington To Babylon” as examples) but the mental picture of  ”The Wall“  triggered my thought process, and the following is a result of that relatively easy effort.

     I truly hope you will read it and appreciate the respect that these men and women deserve. They went when and where their country asked them to go. Be it Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, all throughout Southeast Asia, they went, out of an ingrained sense of duty to their nation, and our way of life. Though it was not popular to do so, they listened to their heart and not to popular opinion. Right or wrong, like it or not, Viet Nam happened, and they served with honor and with pride, some did not ‘come marching home.’  Lost,  were a great number of brave young people to the war. 

     But, not only America, other nations* as well, had a whole generation reduced by great numbers during the “Viet Nam” years. Though this poem  is dedicated to those whose names are on that wall.  Let us remember all of those who made the supreme sacrifice. May God Rest Their Souls.

     For all of time there has been war, for all of time there have been warriors, and for all of time there have been those who were left to mourn.          

      In Memorium;

A Name Upon This Wall

Decades now have sailed,

upon the fleeting wings of time,

since you went away to war,

and heard your nation’s call.

But, the flight of time, will diminish not,

your sacrifice for us all.

No, you are more than just,

a name upon this wall.

You are a hero and a patriot,

and we, be debtors all.

For the gift you gave to us,

we see your name upon this wall.

But, we can’t witness, the living soul,

the youth, now forever stalled,

represented here, in polished stone,

by a name upon this wall.

We may know you only, by these letters etched,

on to this monument’s sprawl.

Still there is a kinship felt,

with the names upon this wall.

To our true and loyal comrades,

who have borne the funeral pall,

a grateful nation, remembers you,

By, your name upon this wall.

Jack Downing

U.S. Navy 1965-1972

Sept. 2011

God Bless our troops.

* I am aware that some of my readers are not from the United States, but I also suspect that war has touched many of us in one way or another during our lifetimes, so I am confident that we all, can reflect on the heroism and unselfishness of those who serve their country everywhere, everyday, in defense of freedom. 

Thank you all,

Jake.

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