by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 1942-Sept. 1945
It’s been a long and bloody war,
We will all agree,
And they're all so far from home,
Not like you and me.
We read about them in the post
Or on TV we see
Their efforts as they
Fight this war
In hell's eternity.
We cannot give them
All enough
To compensate the fact
They fight this war
For other folks
Who will not watch
Their backs.
No help is coming
To the ranks
From those who
Should be saying thanks
For taking away the
Evil of
A monster’s dynasty.
Their enemies are
Fanatics,
They are not of this world,
We cannot fight
That kind of mind
Where death is not
A fearsome fright.
We thought that we
Were doing right
Whenever we
Took up the fight,
We thought that we
Could bring to light
The kind of life
That we hold dear
And they could live
Without a fear.
When is enough,
Enough?
We know that we
Can hang tough,
Our valor is not
Depleted yet
But shall we waste it
On a cause
We cannot see
Nor feel?
Why can we not
Just leave the field
Though it is not
Our forté,
To quit a fight
With noble cause
Is really not
Our way.
So bring them home
And bind their wounds
And waste not another
Life.
Let those for whom
We’ve sacrificed
Make best
Their own way.
* * *
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.
