A SOLDIER DIED TODAY

Originally Titled, "JUST A COMMON SOLDIER"

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt ©1985
Reprinted By Permission

He was getting old and paunchy
and his hair was falling fast
And he sat around the Legion
telling stories of the past,

Of a war that he had fought in
and the deeds that he had done
In his exploits with his buddies;
they were heroes, everyone.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors,
his tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened,
for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
for old Bob has passed away
And the world's a little poorer,
for a soldier died today.

No he won't be mourned by many,
just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary
very quiet sort of life,

He held a job and raised a family,
quietly going on his way;
And the world won't note his passing;
'tho a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing
and proclaim that they were great,

Papers tell of their life stories
from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier
goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
to the welfare of our land
Some jerk who breaks his promise
and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
who in times of war and strife
Goes off to serve his Country
and offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate
to the services he gives,

While the ordinary soldier,
who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal,
and perhaps a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them,
for it was so long ago
That our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's
went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians,
with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger
with your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out
with his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a soldier
who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin, and country,
and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier
and his ranks are growing thin
But his presence should remind us,
we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
in the paper that might say:
OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.

Where'd you find that?