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TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE, IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE. I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE. I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE. NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS. WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND. FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY. THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE, CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME. THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER, NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER. WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED? I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT, OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT. SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY. THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE. I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE, ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME. THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY. THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, "SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE; I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS." THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP. I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL. I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT. THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE." ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. "MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT." Merry Christmas guys! Lawdogso | ||
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Powerful. Well done. Let us all remember our brave military this Christmas. | |||
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one of the BSBs had access to some extra verses that were written for this poem, and i will add them here along with the original. sorry for the extra length. ---------------------- I've also seen an "addition" to this as well. Pardon the length. �Twas the night before Christmas He lived all alone, In a one bedroom house made of Plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney With presents to give, And to see just who In this home did live. I looked all about A strange sight I did see, No tinsel, no presents, Not even a tree. No stockings by mantle - Just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures Of far distant lands. With medals and badges, Awards of all kinds, A sober thought Came racing to mind. For this house was different, It was dark and dreary. I found the home of a soldier, Once I could see clearly. The soldier lay sleeping Silent, alone, Curled up on the floor In this one bedroom home. The face was so gentle, The room in such disorder, Not how I pictured A United States Soldier. Was this the hero Of whom I�d just read? Curled up on a poncho, The floor for a bed. I realized the families That I saw this night, Owed their lives to these soldiers Who were willing to fight. Soon round the world The children would play, And grownups would celebrate A bright Christmas Day. They all enjoyed freedom Each month of the year, Because of the soldiers Like the one lying here. I couldn�t help wonder How many lay alone, On a cold Christmas Eve In a land far from home. The very thought Brought a tear to my eye, I dropped to my knees And started to cry. The soldier awakened And I heard a rough voice, �Santa don�t cry, This life is my choice.� �I fight for freedom I don�t ask for more, My life is my God, My country, my war.� The soldier rolled over And drifted to sleep. I couldn�t control it, I continued to weep. I kept watch for hours, So silent and still, And we both shivered From the cold night�s chill. I didn�t want to leave On that cold, dark, night, This guardian of honor So willing to fight. Then the soldier rolled over With a voice soft and pure, Whispered, �Carry on Santa, It�s Christmas Eve, all is secure.� One look at my watch And I knew he was right �Merry Christmas my friend And to you a good night.� I climbed up the chimney And hopped on my sleigh, Praying and hoping I�d see him again one day. Pulled by my reindeer I sped through the sky, When Spirits of other soldiers Came passing me by. The first one was the oldest A soldier from George Washington�s ranks, A Revolutionary War Vet armed only with a musket and sword, No planes, no tanks. He said, �Though it all started With soldiers like me, It�s the others that follow That kept us free.� Next came a pair of spirits One gray, one blue. �We are brothers.� Exclaimed the two. One fought with Grant The other with Lee �Though we died by the others hand, We won our nation�s unity.� How tragic that is I so painfully thought, That the two brothers Had to have fought. I cringed at the prospect Of the spirits� stories ahead. My soul was filled With fear and with dread. A spirit appeared Wearing a wide brimmed hat, A Springfield rifle at port And his hair a mat. �I fought the axis powers In the first World War,� To preserve freedom for all From Europe to the American shore.� �Freedom was won Or so we thought, The Nazis and Japan were who we fought.� From the direction of these voices Came two men, All bruised and battered And ghastly thin. On the shoulder of one Was a 101st Airborne Patch, A bandolier of ammo And a Thompson to match. The other had a 45 And carried a sword. The Marine�s face Was as stern as a board One started to speak With a tear in his eye, But wouldn�t let it go As the soldier wouldn�t cry. �Eighteen days before Christmas The Japs started their attack, As my brother on the Arizona Lay asleep in his rack. Many more soldiers Died in our war, From Mt. Sirabachi To the Normandy Shore But in the end Peace was won, Through the sacrifice of soldiers Armed with courage and gun.� These two spirits Were from the Greatest Generation, But more souls would be lost In the defense of a nation. The World War 2 Spirits Then faded from the scene. When from the night sky Came another spirit in green. �You fought in Korea?� I asked Not sure if he�d speak He looked sick and frail And terribly weak. �I�m surprised you remember, Not many still do, Except those who fought it And of those there are few� �We pushed the communists to the North from the sea, And to this very day That�s where they still be.� �Your sacrifice was appreciated,� I told him �by a nation still free� �Ours has been called the �Forgotten War�,� said the spirit �And that�s a pity.� �I�d do it again,� he said �With no fear or regrets, For I knew there�d follow Many more vets.� And sadly I knew He was undoubtedly right, As a Green Beret appeared Out of the Christmas Eve night Wearing silver wings on his chest And carrying an M-16, He said, �I was the last Of my 12 man team� �The Nam is where we went so young and so green. We thought we�d force The American dream.� �After The Ashau, The Hill, Khe Sahn, and La Drang, The KIA�s climbed And the teletypes sang� �Three thousand missing Fifty thousand dead, The numbers are hard To see in one�s head.� �When Nixon said it�s over, To home we�d race Only to meet our countrymen Who spat in our face.� �After the loss and pain And everything we went through We realized we had fought for our brothers Whose pine beds were draped with red white and blue.� �People have said �In Vietnam, America lost,� That it was tragic And too high a cost.� �Never again,� They would say, �Would we use our soldiers In such a frivolous way.� �But as I stand before you Santa On this Christmas Eve night, You and I know Many more went to fight� And with that he left His point well made, For all Americans to remember The price of liberty that�s paid. From his story To my mind there came a thought, Since Vietnam There were many places they fought. From Lebanon, Beirut, Panama and the Ukraine, To Somalia, Haiti and The Gulf American soldiers fought the same. America�s military Was unequalled world round. Then a new enemy Came to town. Radicals from the east Entered America�s skies, Then crashed into buildings Taking so many innocent lives. But a charge of patriotism Surged throughout the land, And Americans all over Decided to take a stand. The first to answer Fell from the Pennsylvania sky, To protect the innocent They were willing to die. Then planes were launched And ships set sail, Mothers and wives Began to wail. �Defend our county!� Lady Freedom did call, And American soldiers did answer To preserve liberty for all. Unknownst to the world For weeks, Spec Ops had been out Watching the Taliban and The defensive they�d mount. �Hand over the Taliban,� Bush told them �Or else you�ll regret it.� They didn�t take America�s offer But instead said, �Forget it.� News of their refusal Had reached pilots� ears, Their iron eagles were launched Much to Afghani fears. They imposed justice Out of the skies. The Taliban were shocked And fled like mice. Then parachuted in infantry, Tanks and much more. Soldiers would say of the Taliban, �They wanted this war!� To the mountains and trenches The Taliban fled. �Much like the First World War� I said in my head. Osama Bin Laden A very wanted man, Died in a bus or Fled to Pakistan. Dead or alive America knows not for sure. But wherever there were terrorists That�s where American soldiers were. Back to Iraq America would go, Amidst suicide bombers To stop terrorism�s flow. Some Americans question �Why?� Others ask, �How?� But in my mind I know the answer now. American soldiers, No matter race, color or name, Fight, bleed and die All just the same. Ask them why and they�ll say �We do it for America and for each other, As the man beside you You must trust as a brother.� �Those who have seen Never stop seeing, The blood, pain and the sacrifice That becomes part of a soldier�s being.� �Of all that we could ask Only one thing comes to mind, Simply promise to remember us When you have time.� �Fly the colors we fought for Oh, our Red White and Blue. For it was under those colors we fought For our families and for you.� �When the national anthem starts, Go ahead and sing, No matter the voice, In our ears it will ring.� �Be conscious during the holidays Of our brothers who were lost, The price they paid Was the ultimate cost.� I nor anyone Can understand all that they did, No mother, no father No adult, no kid. Save he who did fight - The American Vet. Respect and thanks From his nation he should get. �I figured it out,� I achingly thought. My heart was broken My tongue a knot. I bawled then sniffled Then wiped the tears from my eyes, When all of a sudden I did realize. On my own I figured out nothing In my simple head. It was the stories of the soldiers It was what they said. But I will try to remember Every word the soldiers did say, Especially now On this free Christmas Day. The author doesn't want any special credit or to detract from the original unknown author but rather build upon it as it applied to what was going on at the time, which was the Afghani and Iraqi conflict. Hope you enjoy it and hope that everyone heeds its words. | |||
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it never ceases to amaze me about the intelligence and heart of the people on this site - salamundi | |||
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Perforator, nice addition to the post. Thanks. Lawdogso | |||
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