Great subject Ed ..very thoughtful !

I am an ardent supporter of American Soldiers (our troops) .. My family is an active member in VFW and Disabled American Vets .. !

Frog, beautiful to see you tripping out on your G-tar standing by our flag.

All I can say is that the majority of men I know or knew are Vets rather than civilians. Does that make me prejudiced or privileged? I support our troops during service, in times of peace or war, or the horrors of the aftermath.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The Marine stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, Marine,

How shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek?

To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.

Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep...

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the Marine waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you Marine,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell."

~Author Unknown~

Judi, such a shame (have others noted?) that the majority of the time on TBD kudos for inspiration is not available due to programing bugs and alignment that is never worthy of a fix. That was awesome and thanks for posting. God bless your family, Judi, as they serve and as they add to your rich family history.

I am going to add this comment in the hope our admin will respond accordingly. I only join a total of ten groups at a time so that I can respond and watch my interests, including two groups of my own that take up a majority of my day. I gave up a Bible group to clearly support my love for our troops. I hope that you will contribute in the building up of this forum. I broke all my longstanding rules yesterday by contributing the first discussion here. That is your job to rally the troops and if you will you will find me more than capable in holding up your weary arms.

Warrior

I never wore the uniform,

no medals on my chest.

The band it doesn�t play for me,

I am not among �the Best.�

I do not march in cadence,

I do not rate salute,

I stand among the silent ranks,

our devotion absolute.

If you�ve not worn my shoes,

you do not know my story.

I live a life of sacrifice,

my reward a private glory.

I�ve wept many silent nights away,

and I�ve kept the home fires burning.

I�ve worried and I�ve waited,

as world events were churning.

I�ve moved more times than you could fathom,

left more people than you�ve known.

I�ve planted gardens �round the world --

Very few that I�ve seen grown.

I�ve grieved with new-made widows,

and had my share of scares --

when a ship or plane or man was down,

and all I had were prayers.

I�m not asking for your sympathy,

(although appreciation can be nice)

I did it quite on purpose though --

I chose to sacrifice.

I�ll tell you a secret now,

one you�d never guess.

About the one glory that is mine,

it�s just enough � no more, no less.

When you and I stand together

as our national anthem plays,

I�ll fill with reminiscences

of how I spent those days.

I�ll know the pain and joys again,

I�ll know that freedom isn�t free,

I�ll know I�ve helped to pay the price �

and that the anthem plays for me.

Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer

Wife of a United States Marine