Midway

By:  Gary Lemon

In the early months of nineteen forty two,

The news is distressingly grim.

The Japanese tide rolls relentlessly on,

His advance we cannot stem.

Wake Island, Philippines, Singapore, Guam...

All have fallen...but all is calm.

For as Americans, we surely know...

We are equal to any foe.

But at Fleet Headquarters there is deep concern.

When will the tide begin to turn?

In early May, it's anchors aweigh.

The Imperial Fleet sorties again.

"Course Midway, without delay...

Let the battle begin.'

Far away a smaller force waits,

To meet the mighty fleet.

The time has come to draw the line,

We will never more retreat.

So opposing ships sail through the night,

Knowing tomorrow, they will have to fight.

At first crack of dawn...

Planes are launched,

And the search is on.

Hours pass before the enemy is found.

Torpedo Squadron 8 is target bound.

Our planes come in above the waves,

Determined to send the enemy To a watery grave.

But a hundred Zeroes lie in wait.

Torpedo Squadron 8 has met its fate.

But not in vain is their sacrifice...

Four Jap carriers will pay the price.

From out of the sun, our bombers plunge,

Three 'flat tops' in their site.

Their aim is true and we immediately knew,

The enemy had lost the fight.

But the victory was not without cost,

U.S.S. Yorktown, we have lost.

The battle is over and to the enemy's regret,

He was never thereafter an offensive threat.

Normandy

By : G.W.Lemon

A million men wait anxiously,

Knowing not what the decision will be.

More and more the tension grows....

'Ike' finally decides it's time to go.

The date is June 6th, nineteen forty four,

A day we have long been waiting for.

A thousand ships stretch across the sea,

And have gathered here, at Normandy.

The coast of France looks a little forlorn.

The Germans are not aware of the approaching storm.

Suddenly, bombs and rockets light up the dawn,

Night turns to day...and the invasion is on.

From far at sea, comes a tremendous roar,

As men of war bombard the shore.

The Fuehrer is awakened with an urgent plea,

'We are under attack...emergency...the invasion is here...

It's Normandy! '

Reinforcements are dispatched, but with much delay.

The invasion was expected at Calais.

The German defenders bravely stand their ground,

Matching our assault round for round.

The situation is critical on Omaha beach,

The enemy line we have failed to breach.

The battle rages throughout the day.

Men die and men pray...

Praying for deliverance to live through the day.

Normandy beachhead is finally secure,

Too many bombs and shells for the enemy to endure.

The battle for Normandy, we had to win,

To achieve final victory in Berlin.

Leningrad

By:  G.W. Lemon

In the annals of human ordeal,

Of most pain and misery, a mortal can feel...

The siege of Leningrad profoundly stands,

As a tragic example of man's cruelty to man.

Northern winds blow an icy breath,

Over a city that is marked for death.

Outside the gates, the Germans wait.

The poor souls within, await their fate.

The specter of death will not go away.

One thousand Russians... die each day.

And the invader remains...

For an indefinite stay.

As the winter months pass....painfully by,

The city of Leningrad, refuses to die.

Disease and starvation take a frightful toll.

'Leningrad still resists', freedom bells extol.

Spirits rise with the summer thaw.

Salvation arrives and the enemy withdraw.

'The siege has been broken! ', the world is told.

Broken are the German's dreams.....

Of adding Russia to its fold!

Battle of the Bulge

 By:  G. W. Lemon

From El Alamein, to Passerine, to Sicily;

From Casino, to Anzio, to Normandy

We have come far in this cruel war,

And still have far to go,

But the end is in sight, If we live through the night,

And the crosses continue to grow.

The end is near, for this year, of nineteen forty four.

We think of home and long for the day

We'll reach that American shore.

A winter fog blocks out the sun,

The temperature drops and our feet are numb.

We believe the Germans are falling back,

It seems impossible they could attack.

But through the Ardennes the Germans come,

Like a bolt of lightning From out of the sun.

The German army once thought dead,

Is very much alive and storming ahead.

Hundreds of panzers and thousands of guns.

They can't be stopped. We're on the run.

We reach a town called Bastogne.

We are quickly surrounded ...And the siege is on.

A light snow falls over Bastogne.

Our bodies are chilled to the bone.

The Germans tell us "surrender or die".

"Nuts," is General McAuliffe’s reply.

We begin to wonder if death is at hand,

Our life will end

On this frozen land.

Then the fog begins to rise from its wintry embrace

The sun shines through,

Like a heavenly grace.

Our Air Force, once grounded, now joins the fight.

They fly overhead.

What a beautiful sight!

The German lines are now revealed.

Soon it's all over.

They have lost the field.

The Fuehrer had said, "We must not fail!"

But the last card was played,

And to no avail.

The war will soon be over,

We'll be going home to stay.

But we'll never forget our buddies,

Who fell along the way?

Hiroshima

By:  G. W. Lemon

From the Land of the Rising Sun…

A decision has been made

War with America,

Can no longer be delayed.

Three birds fly high up in the sky,

So peaceful and serene.

What a day, a beautiful day.....

And death is not foreseen.

But 'tis not to be, not to be,

A respite of death from afar..

A flash of light, a mushroom cloud...

And Hiroshima is no more.

Pearl Harbor

By G. W. Lemon

From the 'Land of the Rising Sun',

A decision has been made.

War with America,

Can no longer be delayed.

The order comes forth...

"Put all ships to sea...

On course for Hawaii,

To meet our destiny."

The target is Pearl Harbor,

And the ships lined row after row.

Ships of the Pacific fleet,

Must be dealt a fatal blow.

Oahu awakens to a bright morning sun,

It is December 7th, nineteen forty one.

A day of infamy.... has begun.

A gentle breeze blows in from the sea,

The surf is calm on Waikiki.

Over at Pearl, the great fleet rests,

Standing ready to meet the test.

No thoughts of war, or hostility,

A scene of peace and tranquility.

From out of the clouds, many planes appear.

Dropping low to a placid sphere.

Curious eyes, follow each flight,

Wondering about such an ominous sight.

Many ships filled the harbor that day,

Knowing not, they were the prey.

Suddenly, explosions rock the dawn.

We soon realize...a war is on.

"Battle stations ! Battle stations!"

Is heard above the shrill.

'Tis apparent this is no drill.

Death and destruction come, Wave after wave.

The situation becomes extremely grave.

Torpedoes and bombs, Fall like rain.

We answer back, But 'tis in vain.

Proud old Arizona, was first to go.

She settles to the bottom, Fifteen fathoms below.

The scene is of horror and unreal.

America's proud fleet, Is burning, twisted steel.

The attack is finally over,

Treachery has won the day.

But before the war is over...

Japan will dearly pay.

TARAWA

BY: Gary Lemon

Many waves have hit this beach,
but our objective we have failed to reach.
Lifeless souls line this shore,
gallant marines who will fight no more.
"We must move forward if we are to survive,
lest no one here will be left alive"
Fear and confusion run through our ranks.
A voice is heard: "Where in hell are our tanks?"
"Move out"! The order is given,
the pride of the Marines has arisen.
Machine guns chatter a deadly beat,
our advance is measured only in feet,
casualties mount as we move ahead,
the beach is strewn with wounded and dead.
But, slowly the tide begins to turn,
We cannot be stopped, the Japs soon learn.
Tarawa is the name of this miserable land,
where ten thousand died on our way to Japan.

TOBRUCK

BY: Gary Lemon

A curtain of darkness has finally fell,
around our little corner of hell.
The whole German army is knocking at our door,
we ain't worried, they been here before.
But today was especially bad,
we lost another fifty young lads.
Bombs fall by day, cannons roar at night,
Tobruk is one hell'uva sight.
Sir Winston was here 'bout a month ago,
he said we put on a jolly good show,
He said "we're gonna win this war",
but Tobruk is more than we bargained for.
Our morale is high, but our ammo is low,
That damn "Desert Fox' just won't let go,
We are still surrounded and holding out,
but the fate of Tobruk is very much in doubt.