Gathered here today

Are Veterans, one and all

Who returned from the war,

Answering freedom's call.

The marks of war are upon

Some of those gathered here;

But the marks of war lie

Within where scars do not appear.

For many a night we cannot sleep,

And from midnight to five

The sights and sounds we saw,

Like the Phoenix, come alive!

No one but the veteran

Of wars long since past,

Knows the scenes which

Cross our minds that last.

So to you, soldiers on the ground

And airmen in the sky,

And sailors who sailed the seas,

With all who had to die.

I salute you every one

For a job well done;

Veterans, one and all

For freedom has been won!

Copyright © C. Douglas Caffey
All Rights Reserved