Written by author Biff Price
2001-2002
Part of the Gift Collections at the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas.
On permanent display: Veteran's Haven North, Glen Gardner, New Jersey.
The poems are read at funerals as part of eulogies, on special days such as Veterans Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, and at picnics, reunions and other events. They are also in private collections around the nation.
(The poems were created at the request of Albert Thomas, past Pennsylvania State Commander of the V.F.W. beginning in the late summer of 2001 — two weeks before 911.)
Glory
Though your threads are torn and tattered
And stained with blood and tears
Still you wave in shining glory
Undaunted by the years
Though you've draped the graves of young men
In sunshine and in rain
Felt a mother's broken anguish
A father's quiet pain
Though you've led a thousand battles
Held high into the breach
Seen so many brave men dying
A hill just out of reach
Though you've shared the tears of leaders
Who could not save their men
Yet they mount a new offensive
To take the hill again
Though some rip you and then burn you
And curse you in their hate
Rage and anger cannot hurt you
Your truth will not abate
You're the symbol of true freedom
To which the world aspires
Neither tyrant nor religion
Can dim your spirit's fires
Still you soar in shining glory
Far more than thread or weave
Freedom's never-ending story
In which the brave believe
Though your threads are torn and tattered
And stained with blood and tears
Still you wave in shining glory
Undaunted by the years
Old Warriors
Sitting with tired old men
Speaking of ancient days
Of half-remembered heroes
Seen through memory's haze
Eyes grown dim with looking
Hearts emptied of youth's rage
Hands that shook the world
Now trembling with palsied age
No longer boys of summer
Nor men of great renown
Their deeds have turned to dust
And fallen to the ground
Lost in recollections
Of victories long ago
Hearing distant thunder
From where they cannot go
They speak in awe of deeds
And shining sacrifice
Of men who fought and died
The ones who paid the price
They shared the blood of battle
The death of boys and men
And wonder at time's passage
As they face their mortal end
To regain their strength of limbs
And run with all their might
To feel the power and the joy
Of youth's unfettered light
Once more to bravely march
Into the fire and hell
With brothers by their sides
Their ranks would quickly swell
"Do you remember Omaha?
Were you at Guadalcanal?
Did you fight at Midway?
Fall under Rommel's spell?
"Did you fly with Jimmy
Or march with Patton's Pride?
Were you at Pearl that awful day
When so many died?
"Do you remember England
Or the south of France?
Lord, how many years are gone
Since we made Hitler dance?
"We saved the whole damn world
So few remember now
For time has hidden memories
Sunk beneath its prow
"Day-by-day we slip away
One-by-one we leave
And when all of us are gone
Who will then believe?
"And so we wear our uniforms
On so-called "holidays"
Stand proudly at attention
Before the public's gaze
"They think we're old and useless
No one remembers why
Memorial Day means nothing
So, too, the Fourth of July
"No one stops to thank us
Or ask us where we fought
No one cares enough to know
The price their freedom bought
"We gave you this America
We saved you Europe, Japan…
We won your freedom everywhere
We earned it man-by-man
"So, when you see us sitting here
Look long and hard, as well
We saved the world just yesterday
And have so much to tell
A Ballad of Brave Men
It was back in June of '50
They crossed the 38
And claimed the South had started it
A lie we came to hate
Old "Give 'em hell" was notified
He left Missouri quick
And put MacArthur on the case
To stop this dirty trick
In just three days things fell apart
The South had lost its Seoul
But Douglas went straight way to Church
Defining his new role
Dean and the 24th deployed
Creating Task Force Smith
They came together at P'yongtaek
To give the ROK a lift
But there was bloody hell to pay
In June and through July
Outnumbered, sometimes unprepared
So many young men die
Six thousand three had been struck down
Half from the 24th
But from Chindong to "The Notch"
They held from South to North
The Naktong Bulge, Cloverleaf Hill
In "The Bowling Alley"
As each night fell new terror came
Slaughter hill to valley
All through August and September
They fought to hold Pusan
As they prepared and organized
The landing at Inch'on
First inch-by-inch, then mile-by-mile
The North ground to a halt
Then 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
Took Green Beach without fault
The war raged on both night and day
Until Seoul was regained
The Battle of the Barricades
An enemy restrained
In October and November
They pushed into the North
But when they came near the Yalu
The Chinese issued forth
In winter's hellish freezing cold
Two hundred thousand came
The North regained their capital
And seesaw was the game
Despite furious offensives
And fighting man-to-man
The cold, the pain, the death, the rain
Served neither battle plan
So back and forth and up and down
Across the 38
They fought and bled and died some more
Their rage would not abate
But then the General defied
His Commander-in-Chief
Old Harry S. lowered the boom
And gave MacArthur grief
While on the field the war raged on
Matt Ridgway took the lead
To find a way, to seek a truce
On this they were agreed
While politicians warred with words
And dueled with ink and pen
More brave men died, and mothers cried
While praying for the end
On July the 27th
In 1953
They signed the truce at Panmunjom
And made the DMZ
In Passing
I passed you on the street today
And did not know your name
Yet in your face I saw a look
That said we are the same
Your face was weathered by the years
As life has done its best
To steal away our strength of youth
Before we seek to rest
I've seen you in the street before
And in the market square
We're bound by blood and brotherhood
A war that was unfair
Unfair to those who fought and died
Some said we died in shame
While students burned the flag and cards
Giving us the blame
"My Lai!" became their battle cry
They did not understand
Our blood was shed for each of them
So they could take their stand
They did not taste our fear and pain
Or see our sacrifice
The young men slain in jungle rain
In pools of blood and rice
Perhaps I saw you in Da Nang
Or was it in Quang Tri?
By a hootch outside Saigon, or
Somewhere in the city?
You passed me on a jungle trail
Your face barely a man's
With haunted eyes as old as time
They said you'd made no plans
A world where children carried gifts
That turned into grenades
Where we could not tell friend from foe
And all hands end in spades
A place where death came dripping orange
Or flaming liquid hell
Where fear and weariness combined
In scenes we cannot tell
There are no words for what we shared
Some fled into madness
I see them mumbling on the street
Filling me with sadness
So we came home to emptiness
There was no marching band
And though we fought for freedom's right
No one gave us a hand
The days and years have slipped away
Yet still I see your face
In ball parks, crowds and concert halls
You're there in every place
At times it's just a passing glance
The corner of my eye
I turn and see you standing there
We nod and just say, "Hi!"
Your face is black, your face is white
Sometimes you're short or tall
Surrounded by your family
Or with no one at all
One time I stooped to find a name
Low down upon The Wall
And as the tears ran down my face
I thought that I would fall
But your strong hands reached out to me
And lifted me up high
I turned to thank you for your help
But all I saw was sky
I passed you on the street today
And did not know your name
Yet in your eyes I saw a look
That said we are the same
Big J
Just one day to the year from Pearl
12/7/42
Down Philly's slip into the surf
You had a job to do
Commissioned May of '43
On to the Pacific
Then 3rd Flagship Leyte Gulf
Conduct was specific
In February, '44
You made a raid on Truk
A cruiser and destroyer
Both sunk and out of luck
Decommissioned June, '48
Back home to rest awhile
Then the call came to Korea
You sailed each empty mile
November, 1950 to
November '53
You showed again your blood and steel
For all the world to see
Wonsan, Yangyang, Kansong, Hamhung
Hungnam, Tanchon, Songjin
They felt the power of Big J
And sensed they could not win
When Big J sailed for home again
She wore her colors proud
And trained young men for future wars
Her guns were strong and loud
The decommissioned once again
In August, '57
Ten years she rested quietly
Rusting in ship's heaven
But then the call rang forth once more
In April, '68
Big J set sail for Vietnam
The war we would debate
The one and only battleship
Now active on the earth
Her silent guns roared once again
With steel and fire gave birth
In six months up and down the coast
10,000 rounds were sent
Big J still had the mighty punch
Her power was not spent
Then late December, '69
She was decommissioned
To ride her slip alone again
Dream of one more mission
In February, '84
The call came to Beirut
She fired her guns into the hills
And proved she still could shoot
Old BB-62 "Big J"
You held 2,000 men
With nineteen battle stars in all
We thought you'd never end
Nine battle stars for World War II
Korea adds its four
Then add three more for Vietnam
And campaigns add three more
The men you carried into war
Are proud of you, Big J
But now they bring their families
To you beside the quay
You turned one final time for home
And let your anchor down
In New Jersey, your namesake
Across from Philly town
Well done thou good and faithful ship
The stories you could tell
You've earned your rest among the best
Big J – we love you well!
High Upon The Towers
High upon the towers
They saw the gleaming sky
All were unaware
That this day they would die
High upon the towers
They felt the warming sun
Not knowing in brief moments
Their time on earth was done
High upon the towers
They spied the rolling sea
Some enjoyed their coffee
While others sipped their tea
High upon the towers
Just as the day began
The fire of hell came roaring
Ending every plan
Low from a blackened sky
The towers fell to dust
Shattered, twisted, ruined
A heap of ash and rust
High upon the towers
God looked down and cried
At the evil of man's hatred
As His children died
High upon the towers
All of them are free
Part of God's great Kingdom
For all eternity
