Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
 

IN LOVING MEMORY OF TWO HEROES

DUANE "SARGE PAPPY" HEIMLICH
July 3 - Dec. 18, 2000

and

DAVE SMITH
2003

I have had the pleasure of meeting so many sweet,
wonderful and brave Veterans.

There are two that have left us
and I feel so lucky that
GOD HONORED me with
the privilege of having
met them (through Email)
and they will FOREVER be in my heart.

Throughout three years of corresponding with them, I learned
STRENGTH and COURAGE.

I learned that its possible to be in so much pain, both physically
and emotionally, YET be able to show love and
devotion to family and friends.

That no matter how much you're suffering,
others come first. And that, to me, is
BRAVERY and LOVE.

I wrote the following poem with them in mind
but its MY FEELINGS for ALL the other HEROES
that also suffered and sacrificed and gave their lives for
OUR protection and FREEDOM.

TODAY

Today, you came to mind.
It was a sweet aroma.
But then...I don't know why,
there was sadness, hurt and pain.
I closed my eyes trying to forget.
Why did it happen, this ugly war?

Your youth was taken,
Your spirit stopped,
Your happiness ended,
Forever gone.

It wasn't easy
Life here on earth,
When you came back
I know you hurt.

But I am thankful
My heart you found,
Your gift of friendship
It did abound.

You brought me happiness
Before you left.
And may you know
That I WON'T forget.

HopeM©2000

May you never take your FREEDOM for granted
because it was too high a price that
someone had to pay.

 

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
They carried P-38 can openers
and heat tabs, watches and dog tags,
insect repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo
lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages,
ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of
water, iodine tablets, sterno,
LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks.

They carried standard fatigues,
jungle boots, bush hats,
flak jackets, and steel pots.

They carried the M-16 assault rifles.

They carried trip flares and Claymore
mines, M-60 machine guns,
the M-70 grenade launcher, M-14's,
CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's,
66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols,
silencers, the sound of bullets,
rockets, and choppers, and
sometimes the sound of silence.
They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an
assortment of hand grenades,
PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes.
Some carried napalm, CBU's, and large bombs;
some risked their lives to rescue
others. Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death
and damage. Some made very hard
decisions, and some just tried to
survive.

They carried malaria, dysentery,
ringworms, and leaches. They
carried the land itself as it hardened on
their boots. They carried
stationery, pencils, and pictures
of their loved ones -
real and imagined. They carried
love for people in the real
world, and love for one another.
And sometimes they disguised
that love:

"Don't mean nothin'!"

They carried memories!

For the most part, they carried
themselves with poise and a kind of
dignity. Now and then, there were
times when panic set in, and
people squealed, or wanted to, but
couldn't; when they twitched and
made moaning sounds and covered
their heads and said "Dear God",
and hugged the earth
and fired their weapons blindly,
and cringed and begged for the
noise to stop, and went
wild and made stupid promises
to themselves and God and
their parents, hoping not to die.
They carried the traditions
of the United States military,
and memories and images of those
who served before them.
They carried grief,
terror, longing, and their reputations.

They carried the soldier's greatest
fear: the embarrassment of dishonor.

They crawled into tunnels,
walked point, and advanced
under fire, so as not to die of
embarrassment. They were afraid of
dying, but too afraid to show it.

They carried the emotional
baggage of men and women
who might die at any moment.

They carried the weight of the world,
and the weight of every free citizen of
America.

THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER

Author Unknown

The Boys We Left Behind


Previous Counter:897