| WORLD WAR AND NOW | | | | crept to their campsite, Where on what they were |
| SACRIFICE,TRANSFORMATION,AND | | | | eating, I would soon dine. |
| UNRESTRICTED WARFARE | | | | I stabbed them both and took their fish, rice and |
| The Japanese hadn't lost a war since 1598 Each man | | | | wine; Then ran my way back to the raft by the |
| carried 400 rounds of ammunition (twice as many as | | | | beach. Soon I was floating in the ocean again And far |
| an American infantryman) With five days rations and | | | | enough out where bullets couldn't reach. |
| fearless determination. | | | | The next day I was picked up by a seaplane, Whose |
| The men in the badly wrapped brown uniforms Since | | | | crew spotted my sail from the air. Once inside and |
| their early childhood had been taught That to die for | | | | safe, I cried like a child, For the dead whom would |
| the emperor and one's country Was the greatest of | | | | forever be there. |
| all glories to be sought. | | | | It was hard to believe heaven let me live; A farm |
| Moreover, the hardware backing them was awesome | | | | boy from Kansas, in high school last year. My |
| As sharpshooters they were accurate up to a | | | | girlfriend is blond and she hates it I 'm gone. Though |
| thousand yards and more. Their ships were faster, | | | | I'm a veteran of battle, death, and fear. |
| their guns bigger, Their torpedoes better, And their | | | | OKINAWA |
| plains matchless in quality, aerobatics and score. | | | | Okinawa was to be our last stop Before we invaded |
| Only by sacrifice, transformation, and unrestricted | | | | Japan. The largest landing of the Pacific war, As our |
| warfare Was America able to overcome and prevail. | | | | soldiers ran across the sand. |
| Again America must stand firm to survive As we | | | | At first our marines were scarcely opposed But on |
| face a new monster from Hell. | | | | the fifth day hell they found. A solid wall of human |
| WAR | | | | resistance Firing their weapons from caves in the |
| As war is fought it takes charge, And events spin | | | | ground. |
| out of control. The madness of men can alter the soil | | | | Air power and big guns had little affect On their cliff |
| Which nourishes the roots of their soul. | | | | forts carved deep in the limestone. It took man |
| Many things will forever change, Far more then | | | | against man to root them out As flying bullets |
| wished to be. As the wrath of war starts to | | | | pierced flesh and bone. |
| destroy, Those things we fight to keep free. | | | | Kamikaze pilots crashed their planes Knocking out |
| War is the greatest plague of man, Religion, state, | | | | transports and war ships. As the Imperial air force |
| and sanity. Any scourge is more preferred, Than the | | | | struck our fleet, Cries of fear and hate spewed from |
| one which disables humanity. | | | | lips. |
| When war breaks out, boundaries change And all | | | | One hundred, ten thousand Japanese By the end of |
| who die are a token, Of the rage that must run it's | | | | the battle were killed. Over twelve thousand |
| course, Before words of peace are spoken. | | | | Americans died, Before, just our flag flew over the |
| TROOP SHIP | | | | field. |
| Our ship had sailed before the dawn Surrounded by | | | | BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC |
| the thickest of fog, Still ignorant of our destination Or | | | | After the fall of France in 1940, The Germans soon |
| what was written in the captain's log. | | | | began their own blockade, With most their efforts in |
| It didn't take long for me to see Our cruise was not | | | | the Atlantic, Hoping to cut Britain's flow of war trade. |
| for fun; An experience of a lifetime With nowhere | | | | With fast surface raiders like the Bismarck, Merchant |
| for us to run. | | | | ships caught at sea, had little chance. The German's |
| Twenty knots per hour we cruised As the white | | | | small navy sank ship after ship, Till the British Navy |
| caps passed us by; Ten thousand young Americans | | | | destroyed war's romance. |
| Off to Europe to die. | | | | Shipping losses from German U-boats increased, And |
| A sailor told us not to worry; Someday we'd get our | | | | the battle of the Atlantic seemed lost. But soon |
| mail. Uncle Sam would make sure No matter how far | | | | America would enter the war, To defeat freedom's |
| we sail. | | | | enemies at all cost. |
| Thirty feet deep I tried to sleep Beneath our ship's | | | | Multitudes would die and their families cry, Before |
| waterline, Just the place for claustrophobia To enter | | | | World War II would be fought to its end. What a |
| into my mind. | | | | waste of mankind, which had lost its mind, Though |
| My favorite vest was my May West Which I wore all | | | | now, our enemy is our friend. |
| the time Just in case of German U-boats Or an | | | | PARTING |
| underwater mine. | | | | The truest words, which portray my love, I speak to |
| Thirty-three days we were at sea, We crossed the | | | | you from within my heart. May we always recall how |
| equator twice. Many years have passed since then, | | | | we feel, Though through conflict we're forced to |
| Those years of sacrifice. | | | | part. |
| BRAVERY | | | | No one can say how long they will last, For life is not |
| Many brave souls lived before now, Unwept and | | | | everlasting. Yet most hope to be blessed by love, By |
| unknown by their face. Lost somewhere in the | | | | he who does our casting. |
| distant night, 'Till a poet chronicles their grace. | | | | As the fear of battle bites my flesh, My thoughts of |
| True bravery is shown by performing, Without | | | | home help keep me sane. There's no guarantee that |
| witness, what one might be Capable of before the | | | | I'll survive But either way, I'll serve without shame. |
| world, Without any or all to see. | | | | Should the cold hands of death reach for me, I pray |
| How great the brave who rest in peace, All blessings | | | | my soul will awake from sleep. To the voice of God |
| from heaven to earth. They gave our country but | | | | assuring me, That my spirit, he's chosen to keep. |
| their best, Those destined to be brave from birth. | | | | So try to remember while I'm gone, That the person |
| PEARL HARBOR | | | | I need most is you. I'll fight like hell to stay alive To |
| Sunday, December the seventh, In the year of 1941, | | | | return home to the love I knew. |
| While most of Hawaii still slept, Came the planes of | | | | P.O.W. |
| the Rising Sun. | | | | When you become a P.O.W. You find you've lost |
| Waves of bombers and fighters flew, From the | | | | your liberty and more, The guy with the gun tells you |
| decks of the Japanese ships. While our planes were | | | | what to do, As you yearn for freedoms you had |
| still on the ground, "Banzai" was spoken from their | | | | before. |
| lips. | | | | Your will to serve helps keep you alive, Though |
| The winds of war had been blowing Across the | | | | sometimes you wish you were dead. Tortures far |
| oceans of our earth, Though not till Pearl had been | | | | beyond any normal mind, And there's no safety, |
| bombed, Did we realize what freedom's worth. | | | | even your bed. |
| Wars are fought and won on two fronts, At home | | | | Bullets, barbwire, searchlights and sharp teeth, Keep |
| and on the battle line. Both are equally important, | | | | you in a place you don't wish to be. The food is quite |
| When war consumes our heart and mind. | | | | awful and sometimes it moves, And you've no choice |
| The attack brought us World War II, With death, | | | | of what you hear or see. |
| pain and separation. All who had served were well | | | | The lucky are released and return home, Though in |
| aware Of their sacrifice for nation. | | | | their dreams their fate is unsure. War may be hell, |
| CONFLICT | | | | but confinement is worse, Cause afterwards you're |
| The harder the conflict we sometimes face The far | | | | never as you were. |
| more glorious is the victory. Tyranny like hell is tough | | | | GENERAL QUARTERS |
| to defeat, When it raises its head throughout history. | | | | General quarters, general quarters, All hands man |
| War never leaves a country as it was, When | | | | your battle station! Sunday morning, December the |
| neutrality is a word disregarded. As the murderous | | | | 7th, As war confronted our nation. |
| hands of man himself Are to blame for all who have | | | | We soon found out it wasn't a drill But instead it was |
| departed. | | | | war for real. As you watch the death of friends and |
| D DAY - THE WALL | | | | shipmates, It's more anger than fear you feel. |
| Over two hundred rangers scaled "The Wall" A stone | | | | Japanese warplanes came flying in low, As I took aim |
| cliff over one hundred feet tall. Some of them made | | | | with my gun sight. From the deck of a ship anchored |
| it all the way to the top, While others fell and | | | | at Pearl Damaged, though crew still eager to fight. |
| perished from their drop. | | | | I saw the face of a pilot, who crashed, Surrounded |
| Those who climbed over, had answered God's call; | | | | by black smoke and fire. Some of my bullets must |
| For men to stop evil once and for all. They fought | | | | have found their mark. For his death was but my |
| the Germans and destroyed their guns, To save the | | | | desire! |
| lives of our fathers and sons. | | | | Two thousand, three hundred and twenty-three |
| So many years have passed since then, When our | | | | killed, In a battle less than two hours. With the heart |
| world's future was saved by brave men. We cannot | | | | of our Pacific fleet gone, Japan had flexed their naval |
| forget the hell they went through, Before the skies, | | | | powers. |
| again turned blue. | | | | The bombing and strafing of ships and troops Caused |
| D-DAY | | | | our congress to declare full war. Where many a man |
| D-Day raised the curtain on the conflict That fore | | | | laid down his life Fighting for flag, country and more. |
| shadowed the end of Hitler's dream. The largest joint | | | | KENNEDY= THE WAR YEARS PT-109 |
| combat landing ever, Though the blood from both | | | | After the attack on Pearl Harbor He applied for sea |
| sides flowed like a stream. | | | | duty in the war. Where Lieutenant John F. Kennedy |
| When their boats hit the sand, their ramps went | | | | Became known for his bravery and more. |
| down, And all within paid a visit to hell. They jumped | | | | In the dark hours before dawn On August 2, of 43. |
| out to do good for their country, And to kill the | | | | Kennedy commanded a torpedo boat Through the |
| enemy without fail. | | | | blackness of night at sea. |
| They fought the Germans, tides, winds and the | | | | PT - 109, was on Solomon's patrol With a 12-man |
| waves, In conditions not easily foreseen. By night the | | | | crew in a plywood craft. A Japanese destroyer |
| battle was in our favor, With bravery, valor, death, | | | | plowed through the night Ramming and cutting |
| and men who scream. | | | | Kennedy's boat in half. |
| The corpses littered the beach for five miles, Though | | | | Two of the crew just disappeared A third was badly |
| heroism had carried the day, With literally thousands | | | | burned. Kennedy himself was thrown to the deck, |
| dead or wounded, Those who were left were | | | | Where in pain his leadership he earned. |
| determined to stay. | | | | Some of his men had never learned to swim As he |
| They faced great odds and chose not to protest, | | | | gathered them on the bobbing bow. The hours |
| And won the war that put evil to shame. Most came | | | | passed tell it seemed it would sink So they made for |
| home, married and raised their babies, But those who | | | | an island and here's how. |
| could not we recall with pain. | | | | He ordered those who could to swim The others |
| MI DWAY | | | | were to hang on to a beam. Kennedy grabbed the |
| It was June the 4th 1942, As I was floating in the | | | | injured sailor And off they tread through the ocean |
| ocean alone; The ship I had sailed on, sank to the | | | | stream. |
| bottom And I thought I would never again, see | | | | With his teeth clenched on the burnt man's vest |
| home. | | | | straps Skipper Kennedy swam 3 miles. 5 hours later |
| The Japanese fleet had steamed in from the east | | | | they all made it Despite their hardships, sharks, and |
| With the intentions of capturing Midway. Though they | | | | trials. |
| were stopped by American war ships, Whose guns, | | | | The next problem was how to summon up help |
| bombs and torpedoes planes saved the day. | | | | Without arousing the enemy all around. After several |
| All night long, I watched the fireworks of war And on | | | | attempts swimming to other islands Eventually two |
| the second day we turned up the heat. As big | | | | natives in a canoe were found. |
| bombers from Hawaii dropped their loads, On | | | | Kennedy scratch a note on a coconut To be |
| Japanese ships who soon chose to retreat. | | | | delivered to a base 38 miles away. The message |
| An imperial pilot came floating close by, Who had | | | | made it and they were saved And their courage still |
| been chewed on by the beasts of the sea. I couldn't | | | | lives us today. |
| help but feel passion for this is man Who had | | | | MY FAVORITE POET |
| answered his call just like me. | | | | My favorite poet is God above Who gives Earth its |
| When it was over, I was plucked from the deep, By | | | | rhythm and rhyme. Not pied pipers of misguided souls |
| men in a lifeboat just after the dawn. For two days I | | | | Who promote distrust, hatred and crime. |
| had watched the battle for, Midway; Now it's quiet | | | | Poetry is nature serenading in song The peaceful roar |
| and the enemy has gone. | | | | of the oceans waves. The wind through the trees |
| SURVIVAL | | | | and over the hills And the flowers in the fields by the |
| I drifted all night and was loosing my hope Before by | | | | graves. |
| the moon's light I saw dry land. I floated over and | | | | The sound of rain as it waters the thirsty The songs |
| through its reefs to the beach, Where I quickly | | | | of children at play in the park. The far off rumble of |
| smoothed out my tracks in the sand. | | | | trains or thunder As they pass through the night in |
| All I had was my dagger and a canteen And it was | | | | the dark. |
| May 4th of 43. Just me alone on an enemy island, | | | | The joy of our babies first words and steps The |
| Wasn't a safe place for a sailor to be. | | | | passion of life with its heroes and clowns. The on |
| I felt I could kill in less than a heartbeat If that's what | | | | going struggle to survive our sins As we proliferate in |
| it took for me to survive. I'd already said thanks so | | | | hamlets and towns. |
| many times, For" God" was the reason I was alive. | | | | My favorite poet is our father of love Who was first |
| Off in the dark, I herd two men's voices, Laughing | | | | to know us before birth. His poetry prolongs every |
| and talking in a language not mine. Inch by inch I | | | | thing we love As his deliverance gives life its worth. |