by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 42~Sept. 45
Fifty years have come
And gone,
Since we last greeted
A wintry dawn.
We Marines,
And soldiers too,
Who fought the fight
That too few knew
Was fought
To keep at bay
The scourge of Asia
Of that day.
We pushed him
Through
The cold and dark,
From freezing valley
To mountaintop.
We did not pause,
We did not stop,
We met him there
Where he was strong.
We met him and
We were not
Wrong,
To think that we
Could forbear.
With our might,
And with our main
We followed to
The monster's lair,
Where we were
Set upon
By hordes of
Yellow human tides
That
Were beyond
Our best response.
We Marines die hard,
We take defeat
Begrudgingly.
We stay the course
Come what may
And hold to fight
Another day.
We leave the field
But rarely so
And our retreats
Are always slow.
We leave no man
That is our own
In some far-off
Foreign land,
A grave
Unknown.
No waiting crowds
Did line the streets,
We came home
Like wayward sheep
And fell back into
The daily grind
And worked in fields
And dark, dark mines
To keep the country
Well and stable,
We did whatever
We were able.
So now that time
Has passed along,
Let us take the time
To say, "Well done!"
To men who were never given
The laurels they deserve.
Remember Korea!
* * *
About the author: Robert Cook served with Reg. Weapons Co.(2d-2d) from 1942~44, at Guadalcanal
and Tarawa, during a 33-month overseas tour.
