MEMORIAL DAY, Heroes On The Hilltop


kln2119 @ Flickr

 Memorial Day honors the Americans 
Who’ve died for us.
When they were called to do their duty 
They didn’t look to see who was going to go with them.

They didn’t wait to see if people would say 
It was a good war or a bad war.
They stood up, and said: “I’ll go.”


Some of them didn’t come back.  
Some lie in graves around the world whose whereabouts, 
Only God knows.

David Gould @ Pexels

As political as all conflicts are, 
The deaths of these men and women 
Lift them far above such mere considerations.

They’re up on that hilltop there, 
Where the sunbeams are shining on them.

We owe these brothers and sisters of ours 

An understanding.

Of their bravery.  
And you can’t talk about bravery 
Without talking about fear.

May I tell you my story?  
I was a captain in the infantry.  
I commanded a rifle company 
In the bright green jungles of Vietnam.  

We’d often encounter tunnels, 
Dark little holes in the earth 
Just big enough for a small man to squeeze into.  

Shutterstock


They’d hold nasty little surprises.
And the uglier they appeared, 
The more important it was 
To not leave them behind us.

I’d always ask for volunteers.  

The big guys never said anything but 
I always thought I heard sighs of relief from them.  
The tunnels were tiny, cramped, and 
Impossible for a big man to get into.

And you can’t just toss a grenade in there, 
Hoping that will help.
It raises dust and makes it impossible to see.  
And it tells everybody exactly where you are.

Sometimes it would take a moment, but 
One of the smaller guys would always say “I’ll go.”

Why would he do that?  

He would do it for his buddies, 
Which is Army-speak for friends. 
Friends for whom you’d lay down your life.  

His buddies would all, 
Every one of them, 
Maybe not openly, 
Sense a change in his standing.  
He was going in there for each of them.  
For all of them.

He would go in there with only a flashlight 
And an automatic.  
And a rope tied to his ankle.

It’s been the same for all of America’s wars.  
For all the men and women who overcame their fears 
And did their chilling, terrifying duty...for their friends.  
Sometimes, it cost them their lives.

Terry Hartley @ Flickr

The soldiers I’d put in for medals weren’t the ones
Who weren’t really afraid, although they did their duty, too.
No, I’d put in the ones who were totally terrified.  
And who did their duty anyway.

You know this, don’t you?  
The more afraid you are, 
The more bravery it takes to overcome that fear.  
Huge bravery is only possible with huge fear.  
It isn’t about turning away, but facing it and, 
Sometimes...
It means walking into the light.

Today we’re remembering those men and women who, 
For whatever reasons they chose, 
Walked up onto that hilltop for their friends.  
Perhaps they didn’t know they were going to do that. 

Right then.  
Right there. 

Wikipedia

But they were there, facing their fear.  
For their friends. 
For their families.  
And for us.

I can barely speak of them. 
I just hope that when my most fearful time comes, 
That I can walk up onto that hilltop with them 
With a fraction of their bravery.

God bless them.  
God bless America, 
Home of the brave 
And, 
Thanks to them,
The free.

RIP, Randy










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