by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 42~Sept. 45
As the snow falls gently
By my door
My thoughts go back
Once more
To when we stood
Watch
On a foreign shore
That stood in
Harm's way.
We were sent
To fend off
The foe,
Who menaced
Those upon
This shore
Of icy ground,
Not yet secure.
'Twas a job for
The Leatherneck Corps.
We came afar
From a land
That knew not war.
Yet,
Her sons stood watch,
As oft before,
To keep the flame
Of freedom bright.
Our flag flew
Bravely
Through the night.
We stood our ground
In ice and snow
And watched
The ice-bound
Coast.
Our hands turned blue,
Our spirits too,
Yet we stood
Both
Proud and true.
For we were
The Leatherneck Corps.
"For the wind blows cold
In Iceland,"
To quote from another's
Score.
"To take a stand
In a faroff land
Is a job for
The Leatherneck Corps"
And there we stayed,
Unafraid.
As the wind howled
O'er the hills,
We hunkered down
On that frozen ground,
It took a lot of will.
The snow that drifts
By my window
Brings thoughts
That won't go away
I guess I will remember
Until my dying day.
* * *
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.
One of the most noticeable changes in the Marine Corps uniform at the outset of World War II was the transition from the M1917A1 helmet (above), reminiscent of World War I, to the familiar M1 helmet of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Mountainous landscape, glacier formations, and overall rugged and inhospitable terrain provided the background to the Marine camps set up in Iceland. Pictured left
is a Nissen hut built by Marines after
their arrival.
