HamNation: FDR's Four Freedoms and Appeasement

Christmas Poem for the Troops

Christmas Poem

'Twas The Night Before Christmas,
He Lived All Alone,
In A One Bedroom House
Made Of Plaster And Stone.

I Had Come Down The Chimney
With Presents To Give,
And To See Just Who
In This Home Did Live.

I Looked All About,
A Strange Sight I Did See,
No Tinsel, No Presents,
Not Even A Tree.

No Stocking By Mantle,
Just Boots Filled With Sand,
On The Wall Hung Pictures
Of Far Distant Lands.

With Medals And Badges,
Awards Of All Kinds,
A Sober Thought
Came Through My Mind.

For This House Was Different,
It Was Dark And Dreary,
I Found The Home Of A Marine,
Once I Could See Clearly.

The Marine Lay Sleeping,
Silent, Alone,
Curled Up On The Floor
In This One Bedroom Home.

The Face Was So Gentle,
The Room In Such Disorder,
Not How I Pictured
A United States Marine.

Was This The Hero
Of Whom I'd Just Read?
Curled Up On A Poncho,
The Floor For A Bed?

I Realized The Families
That I Saw This Night,
Owed Their Lives To These Marines
Who Were Willing To Fight.

Soon Round The World,
The Children Would Play,
And Grownups Would Celebrate
A Bright Christmas Day.

They All Enjoyed Freedom
Each Month Of The Year,
Because Of The Marines,
Like The One Lying Here.

I Couldn't Help Wonder
How Many Lay Alone,
On A Cold Christmas Eve
In A Land Far From Home.

The Very Thought
Brought A Tear To My Eye,
I Dropped To My Knees
And Started To Cry.

The Soldier Awakened
And I Heard A Rough Voice,
Santa Don't Cry,
This Life Is My Choice;

I Fight For Freedom,
I Don't Ask For More,
My Life Is My God,
My Country, My Corps.

The Soldier Rolled Over
And Drifted To Sleep,
I Couldn't Control It,
I Continued To Weep.

I Kept Watch For Hours,
So Silent And Still
And We Both Shivered
From The Cold Night's Chill.

I Didn't Want To Leave
On That Cold, Dark, Night,
This Guardian Of Honor
So Willing To Fight.

Then The Soldier Rolled Over,
With A Voice Soft And Pure,
Whispered, Carry On Santa,
It's Christmas Day, All Is Secure.

One Look At My Watch,
And I Knew He Was Right.
Merry Christmas My Friend,
And To All A Good Night

Air Force
Army
Marines
Coast Guard
Navy


A Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan wrote this poem. The following is his request: PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead,who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

Not Forgotten

Senator Johnson suffers a Stroke

My prayers are with Senator Johnson and his family.



From the ArgusLeader:

Rep. Stephanie Herseth, at the conclusion of a Sioux Falls meeting with
board members of the Lewis and Clark water project, called the group
back together around 3 p.m. and announced Sen. Johnson had been taken
to a hospital.



In a shaking voice, she called on South Dakotans for their prayers.



Herseth said she believed it was a severe stroke.

I hope he recovers quickly and completely.

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Death Watch: Cuba & Saudi

Pajamas Media is again reporting the rumors of the death of Fidel Castro. I think Fidel has been dead for a couple of months.

Plus

Captain Ed has noted the sudden departure of Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job, according to U.S. officials and foreign envoys. Captain Ed thinks this means that King Abdulllah is almost dead and that Prince Turki al-Faisal may soon be King.

Since death normally comes in threes: Chavez or Chirac? Darn, number 3 was Pinochet of Chile.

Blackfive: Paratrooper or Pilot?

Received this model of a P-51D from my client; makes one wonder whether Blackfive is a Paratrooper or Pilot...Hmmmmmm

Only Reason to Invade France

Must defend Melissa Theuriau.

Blackfive Debate on ROE

over at Blackfive there is a post from a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in Iraq about the Rules Of Engagement (ROE).

This NCO (Sergent or Petty Officer) is not happy with the current ROE his unit operates under. The rules are restrictive, they are in place to prevent casualties to innocent civilians. The rules have been designed to balance the need to destroy those opposed to the freely elected Iraqi government without annoying the civilian population too much.

These restrictive set of rules do increase the risks to our troops.

Go read this post and the comments at Blackfive.