A Purple
Heart Is Never Cheap
A Purple
Heart is earned for a combat death or wound
From the mere scratch or graze to body or mind
scarred or ruined
Almost 2,000,000
vets since World War I have had the Heart added to their chest
To the foes
of this nation, those vets fought to bring their reign to rest
Behind each
Heart there is a story of courage, bravery or just bad luck to be told
Some Hearts
ordinary mild mannered soldiers, others raging warriors unbelievably bold
Not
necessarily all heroes unless the Heart was for those vets in combat that died
Upon whose
sacrifice our freedoms, we mere civilians have too often relied
Unless you
take the better view that all vets who put themselves in harm’s way
Against foes
driven to capture, with all matter of arms, wound or slay
Were heroes
then and with all others who the Heart did win, heroes today
Duty, Honor,
Courage, a higher calling and values to seek and obey
There is in
all wars the fog of war of men to confuse
And the hand of God to the wounding and
killing to diffuse
A Ranger in
a hospital in Afghanistan wounded in a hospital bed
With two
legs blown off by an IED, by all rights he should have been dead
Unconscious,
drugged up, odds of survival at best somewhat slim
Another
casualty of our longest war, blown apart with bandaged and missing limbs
When the
commanding officers came to pin his Heart upon his unconscious chest
Eyes
suddenly open, a struggled, crisp salute, an American Ranger will always pass
the test
Not a dry
eye among those in that hospital room
Tears of
respect for a man to rise above fatal doom
Brokaw had
it right, but also partially wrong
The name
Great Generation to this soldier also belongs
The wounded
veterans of the Great Crusade,
Met with
cheers, GI Bill, jobs and ticker tape parades
While this to-be-father
Ranger and his buddies are victims of an appalling budget charade
For dead
soldiers of this nation, death benefits crassly delayed and unpaid
He is a
Ranger, but could have been a sailor, airman, Marine, or soldier into harm’s
way
His country
called, he joined and armed did his job and the Heart price willing to pay
Josh Hargis
you are a true hero; with men like you we should never be afraid
We should never
allow our help to you and your family dim or in the slightest fade.
©
October 16, 2013 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet