by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 42~Sept. 45
You young'uns won't remember,
'Twas a long, long time ago
Before the time of Pearl,
Guadalcanal or Tarawa
Or places that we know.
Before the war broke out, you see,
We had men overseas.
At places where we were needed,
A Marine had to be.
The vastness of that country
Was greater than we knew.
The people were so different,
Much more than me from you.
Our enemy was there in force
It was their first foray.
They killed and pillaged,
Robbed and raped
As we stood watching
Out the gate.
It troubled all the garrison
That we could not rush in,
We were not allowed
To fight that crowd,
As we anticipated.
They told us
Just to stand our ground,
So we just stood and waited.
They pulled us out
Of that dire place
Just before they bombed the Harbor.
They set us down
Not far from town
In a place called Manila.
The Fourth Brigade,
With Marine pride,
Fought the fight
In the Philippines.
They stood their ground,
And earned the crown of
*
**
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.
August 1900, Boxer Rebellion, Peking, China
Then Private Dan Daly earned the first of two Medals of Honor for single-handedly accounting for more than 200 Boxers who had attempted to breach the wall at Legation Quarter.
