by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 1942–Sept. 1945
Ashore they were a rowdy bunch,
they took their time to play;
but once they came aboard
it was business all the way.
They manned the fifties,
the twenties and forties,
and a five-inch gun or two;
they stood their watches
like good Marines ought’a.
Their breaks were far and few.
They stood watch
at the radio shack
and watches on the brig;
they stood by the captain
in all of the action
be it little or big.
And when the seas were heavy
and the wind came blowing in,
you’d find them on
The gun mounts,
Soaked unto their skin.
Although they wore the uniform
of regular Marines,
their duty was
from days of old,
standing afore the sails so bold
or they climbed the mizzen mast
to fire a musket; ‘twas their task.
They had no holes
in which to hide.
Beneath the keel was water
from the shot shell
that raised the decks;
They were ill protected.
They took their place
in the scheme of it all
and did so remarkably well.
Sea-going Marines
was the name of the team
and they served their time
in hell.
* * *
The author: Robert Lin Cook served with Regimental Weapons Co. (2d-2d) from 1942–44, at Guadalcanal
and Tarawa during a 33-month overseas tour.
Robert's latest
book: Poems By A Marine
Nobody Did It Better
Click here to
read a review of Robert's novel.
