A Hero to me

A Hero to me

“The day I was born,” he will say with a grin,
“That’s when I knew I had to be in.”

With a round bellied laugh, he would tell all his
stories, of friends and of foes and battles of
glory.

As a child, I feared him, this gruff Navy Chief,
as his orders were barked out, you knew not to speak.

From youth to adult, my fears turned to pride,
for this rugged ‘Ole Salt’, who had given his time.

“I did what I had to,” he will say with a sigh,
“although it was hard on your mother and I.”

Long since retired, he remembers with pain,
of stories once told and those who remained.

“Fought two wars for freedom,” He will say
If he’s asked…
My father is Navy, forward to aft.