Though I Was Not There

I was not there

when you stared into the whites of British eyes at Bunker Hill.

when you triumphed over Cornwallis at Yorktown.

I was not there

for the Redcoat assault of our new White House.

for the stars and stripes waving over Ft. McHenry.

I was not there

while the Confederates surrounded and besieged Ft. Sumter.

while the Antietam Creek turned red with your blood.

I was not there

as you landed in Europe to fight the war to end all wars.

as you pushed towards Berlin in the offensive of 100 days.

I was not there

for the day that lives in infamy.

for the storming of Normandy’s beaches.

I was not there

fighting in the forgotten Korean war.

surviving ambushes in Vietnamese jungles.

I was not there

marching through the Arabian desert.

liberating Kuwait with the Gulf coalition.

I was not there

struggling in the graveyard of empires.

fighting insurgents in the Fertile Crescent.

But I am here because of you.

And as long as I am,

I shall remember you.