Our Sacred Ground

They shed their blood to forge this nation, then to keep her free/ Then pushed away a Mexican tyrant so that Texas as a US state could be/ In eighteen and sixty one they swelled the ranks to rejoin a country torn asunder/ They bled for liberty- to free the slave, not for callow plunder/ Only too late after the sinking of the Maine did Spain realize her blunder/ Next came World War One where Doughboys and Devil Dogs helped turn back the Hun and on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the fight came to an end/ To commemorate this moment and honor those who served, this Veterans Day was born/ But the war to end war did not succeed and still remained the scorn/ As was bound to happen, hostilities returned- visiting again on a sultry Sunday December 7, 1941/ Unleashing total war with brutality that would stun, forcing sixteen million patriotic Americans to take up the gun/ Then after more Americans fell than in any other war/ Peace through strength was restored/ But the intermission and relief were all too brief/ With first Korea, then Vietnam/ Finally bringing recognition of nurses' sacrifice- that ladies wear the uniform as well and pay the price/ Tell them as well of gratitude much earned/ That all who go to war the lesson learned/ And give to them the hearty "Thank you, Ma'am" that they deserve/ Recalling that all who put themselves on the line have nerve/ Then came brushfire conflicts in twilight wars/ Before Saddam and Osama hid behind their doors/ If you know someone who served or serves, thank them well this day remembering on our behalf, it was and is the ultimate price they were and are prepared to pay.