For TroyD and the men & women of The Armed Forces

etrigan

A Christmas Poem
>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 FOR 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."
>
>
>This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan. The following
>is his request. I think it is reasonable.....
>
>PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as
>you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.
>service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.
>Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
>stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves
>for
>us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed...

Happy Holidays and CHEERS! to all.

jefff

TroyD

Very nice, thanks!

Fortunately, I don't deploy until after the holidays. I am assembling (or trying to) a portable mini 2ch rig so we can have hifi in the desert. Cool huh?

BDT

hotwheelman

Very cool indeed troy, very. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers, I also have a cousin in the army that just deployed last month from norfolk and I plan to email him often to see how things are going, plus I feel that is a good way for him to still feel a connection to home.

Mike

RuSsMaN

I'm not trying to take away from Troy leaving, I'll miss him most of all

BUT, aren't you (Troy) going to be 'in the rear with the gear'? I hope so at least.

Cheers,
Russ

goingganzo

i have a brothe in law stashoned in cuba he is a MP

GZ

Having spent 3 Christmas's in Nam during the early 70's away from my family and loved ones I can relate. May God keep an eye on you Troy, and all the other men and women where ever they are stationed protecting our freedoms and rights as Americans. We are proud of you all!

wodom1

My brother is a Lieutenant Commander in Navy Stike Fighter squadron VFA-37 "Bulls." He just shipped out of Norfolk on the USS Harry S. Truman a couple of weeks ago for the Persian Gulf. He'll be patrolling the Iraqi no-fly zones in a F/A-18 Hornet. It's probably the worst for his wife as he just got married in July and has only spent a total of about 3 weeks with her since, due to work-ups. Hopefully he'll be back in early summer as long as his deployment isn't extended.
-Josh

gidrah

Christmas hugging an M-16 in the desert sucks. Trust me. **** the commando installers. Get home and get home safe.

I hope to God you can just stay where you're at.

TroyD

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
I'm not trying to take away from Troy leaving, I'll miss him most of all

BUT, aren't you (Troy) going to be 'in the rear with the gear'? I hope so at least.

Cheers,
Russ

Never fear, I will be as safe as a bug in a rug. There really isn't too much to worry about. As tent cities go, it's not too bad. We will have (or at least I will) have access to computers/email and so forth. Thanks for the concern though. You know, the worst thing about these type of deployments is the boredom. Killing time is the biggest obstacle.

Hey, on a cool note, I did get to go re-qualify on the M16 and 9MM the day before yesterday. I'm CERTIFIED to bust a cap in someones **** now.

Thanks for the sentiment guys, thought, seriously.

BDT