| Do You Remember? |  |
| I dreamed a dream of long ago
How people came together.
Our country was asleep, at rest,
When suddenly, bad weather.
A jolt, a noise, a big mistake?
Could this be just a drill?
I saw the Harbor up in smoke
atop a lonely hill.
The battleships lined in a row
We're all hit, one by one.
The planes were sitting peacefully
out in the morning sun.
But foreign bombs which weren't so kind
demolished all but two.
A victory for the enemy
but, one day, they'll watch, too!
The next day, our dear President
Declares, "Now this means WAR!"
Our men ran to their draft boards
many to return no more.
Millions of people fought for the cause;
The cause of good versus evil.
Men and women with courage of steel.
Our country was in an upheaval.
They went east and they went west.
We fought at both ends of the world.
Some victories, some tragedies,
But, courage we ever unfurled.
Back here on the homefront.
The ladies took over with joys.
They built tanks, airplanes and jeeps
They did it all for "the boys!"
The children all gathered together
bought war bonds with money they saved.
Traded stamps, collected paper and metals
Gave dolls on the rubber drive days.
WE learned how to live without sugar
And meat, butter, canned goods and shoes.
We planted a VICTORY Garden
And always traveled by twos.
I hated those eerie old sirens.
We ran to the basement in fear
with flashlights and radio in hand.
We'd wait till we heard the "all clear!"
We heard of the terrible murders
of people who didn't match up
to Hitler's ideal of a human.
Their lives, the unwillingly gave up.
The ovens, the camps, the experiments, too
The children, the babies, if you were a Jew
Your fate overseas was death in the chambers
A community grave or camps full of labors.
Six million in all were taken alive
"If you are a Jew, you will NOT survive."
The Nazi's were evil
Inferiors they hated.
If you couldn't walk
You were exterminated!
The gypsies, the Poles, P.O.W.s and lame
Ethnic Cleansing then, was the name of the game.
We'd win some. We'd lose some.
We'd fight hard to win.
We'd pray hard. We'd hope hard.
We cried from within.
We wait and they fight
WE gather the Japs
And put them together
in relocation camps.
Don't speak with an accent
or have slanted eyes.
You may be arrested
and gathered as spies!
We hated the Germans
We hated the Japs
America and Freedom?
Was there a lapse?
And then there was Normandy
And Eisenhower ruled.
"Operation Overlord"
The Germans, we fooled!
The meeting of meetings
Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin.
Will Germany surrender?
Whose doing the callin'?
A little while passes
Our president dies.
"The Dynamic Hero"
A shocked nation cries.
Then Italy's leader
Mussolini is dead.
Opposed by his country,
is executed!
The awesome announcement
of the group suicide;
Of Hitler and company
Just can't be denied.
V-E Day was glorious
Victory in Europe Day
But Truman was nervous.
He still had to play.
A game in the Pacific
It still looked quite grim.
The one big decision
was left up to him.
Japan was still waging
a war in the East.
America had warned them
Yes, here comes "THE BEAST".
The first one was "Little Boy";
A big atom bomb
It dropped on Hiroshima
One day in the calm.
The next one was "Fat Man"
Nagasaki, its target.
It vaporized people.
No one could escape it.
The leader was weary
He could stand it no longer.
On August fourteenth,
the FIGHTING WAS OVER!
On September five,
our Macarthur did sign
on behalf of the Allies
the surrender divine!
And this meant V-J Day,
Victory over Japan
The G.I.'s were homebound
There's peace in the land!
No war is not wanted
Let all thoughts of it be spurned.
It's peace all men long for
When will we all learn?
In God we trust
In God we pray
To love our country
Both night and Day.
To grant us our freedoms
To worship and pray
But, if we're attacked
Well, here's what I say.
We have many heroes
in our country here.
And when they defend us,
I stand up and cheer.
I'm proud of my country
I cherish my choice
to speak my opinions
And lift up my voice.
I honor those people
Who sacrifice much
I sleep well at night
Believing in such!
They leave home in numbers
To fight for the rights
Our forefathers fought so with
Courage and might.
They vanish from loved ones
Are fervent for mail
Hold on to the photos
Hitting the dusty trail.
How DARE you insult them
Strike down their resolve.
You sit in your freedom
The conflict they solve!
If all men were like you
With nothing but talk
We might wave a different flag
With checkpoint roadblocks.
We could have our own camps
With ovens for those
who do not show loyalty
or wear the right clothes.
We could have our leader
Test warfare on us
While sleeping or eating
Be covered with dust.
A dust that will kill you.
How long will it take
Dictators just stand there, say
"Let's Them Eat Cake"
We could have our cities
All demolished by planes
I don't think I could ever
Go through that pain again.
But, you sit and judge them,
The men in the field
The men on the oceans,
Those men are our shield.
While you sit in judgement
of what we must do
to keep our dear freedoms
to gain peace anew.
The freedom they fight for
Allows you to leave
You can live in Iraq
Test what you believe.
Well, I chose to esteem them
Those men in the fight
They fight for my freedom
They fight to unite.
The heroes who come Home
In boxes or boats
Are champion of freedom
That no one demotes.
Our country was founded
On values and God
On patriotism, character
On these I applaud.
So, in God we Trust
In God we pray
To love our country
Both night and day.
To keep us our freedoms
To worship and pray
God bless those who LOVE her
God Bless the USA. | On the 60th Anniversary of the END of World War II,
I bring you this poem in recognition of what our country
incurred, as our brave men in uniform protected our
freedom then and honor our soldiers also today! By Linda Lee Brown
Copyright 2005
Listed 6/20/2005 |
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