I cannot say, and will not sayThat he is dead. He is just away!With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand,He has wandered into an unknown land.And left us dreaming how very fairIt needs must be, since he lingers there.And you - oh you, who the wildest yearnFor the old time step and the glad return -Think of him faring on, as dearIn the love of There as the love of Here; And loyal still, as he gave the blowsOf his warrior strength to his country's foes -Mild and gentle, as he was brave,When the sweetest love of his life he gaveTo simple things; where the violets grewPure as the eyes they likened to,The touches of his hands have strayedAs reverently as his lips have prayed;When the little brown thrush that harshly chirredWas dear to him as the mocking-bird;And he pitied as much as a man in painA writhing honey-bee wet with rain.Think of him still as the same, I say:He is not dead - he is just - away!"Away" by James Whitcomb Riley.In Memory ofSgtMaj E.L.Banks, USMC Retired1926 - 1996Served in WWII, Korea, Viet Nam,U.S.Embassies, 3rd Recon,3rd Marine Div.Awarded Silver Star, Purple Hearts, Bronze StarsSemper FiPhoto of millennium celebration overthe Iwo Jima Memorial by Kamenko Pajic/APAll other graphics fromRegulator 7's Military Graphics Center TABLE OF PAGES HOME AMAZING AWARDS DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT FAMILY ALBUM GIFTS GREAT LINKS EMAIL GUESTBOOK EVE'S GRAPHICS GALLERY LUCID MOMENTS DIGITAL ART EXHIBIT