Please
note: Many versions of this are found
(with confusion on the true author). I
have taken the liberty to insert my dad’s name where another given name was
shown.
JUST
A COMMON SOLDIER
He was getting old and paunchy, and his hair
was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion telling stories
of the past,
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds
that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies, they were
heroes, everyone.
And tho’ sometimes to his neighbors, his
tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened, for they knew
whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer, for old
Paul has passed away;
And the world’s a little poorer, for a
Soldier died today.
He won’t be mourned by many, just his
children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary, very quiet sort of
life.
He had a job and raised a family, quietly
going on his way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though
a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their
bodies lie in state,
And thousands note their passing and
proclaim that they were great,
Newspapers tell of their life stories, from
the time that they were young,
But the passing of a common Soldier goes
un-noticed and un-sung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare
of our land,
A person who breaks his promises and cons
his fellow man
Or the ordinary fellow, who in time of war
and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country, an doffers up
his life?
The politician’s stipend and the style in
which he lives,
Are sometimes disproportionate to the
service that he gives.
While the ordinary Soldier, who has offered
up his all,
Is paid off with a medal, and sometimes a
pension small.
It’s so easy to forget them, for it was so
long ago,
That the old “Pauls” of our Country went to
battle, but we know,
It was not the politicians, with their
compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the Freedom that our Country
now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with
your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician, with his ever
shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a Soldier, who has sworn
to defend,
His home, his kin, his Country, and will
fight until the end?
He was just a common Soldier, and his ranks
are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us, we may
need his like again,
For when Countries are in conflict, then we
find the Soldier’s part,
Is to clean up all the troubles that the
politicians start.
If we can not give him honor, while he’s
here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage, at the
ending of his days.
Perhaps a simple Headline in the Papers that
would say,
OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING…FOR A SOLDIER
DIED TODAY.