The Soldier Pays
This is a poem about veterans and what they all gave up.
Every hero had and still has a price to pay...
We took our grandson, Philip Stevenson, age 12, to Washington, DC this past April. He enjoyed all of the history and monuments we visited. When it came to visiting the Vietnam Memorial, my husband being a Vietnam Veteran, didn't have anything for him to leave at "The Wall". Through the years he had already left what he had. So we suggested that he could write a letter to all of the soldiers on The Wall. I took his picture as he laid it at the memorial. He was in awe of all those who had given their life. We thought you might find it uplifting also.
My Green Socks
For me, Memorial Day is every day.
Encounter at the Grave
I wrote this poem on returning home after visiting my buddy, Thomas Tucker, place of rest near Richton, Mississippi. I drove over 600 miles not knowing for sure where he was buried. It has been 50 years since he lost his life in Vietnam. I needed to say goodbye to him. He is buried in Henderson Cemetery near Richton. My search has ended and now I am at peace.
OLD GLORY
A poem about the flag for "Indivisible: The Story of Our Flag"
21 Guns
Recently, MSG(R) Dean E Powell of Hickory, NC passed away. He served more than 30 years in the North Carolina National Guard and retired active duty in 2002. Upon watching the flag ceremony and the 21 gun salute, Corey Powell (grandson) was inspired to write this poem reflecting his feelings about the 21 gun salute.
The Things I Carried
Excerpt from "Blue Devils in Vietnam", an account of one small western New York high school's contribution to the Vietnam war.
The Last Butterfly
An allegorical account of the 911 Disaster.
AFN Sundays on Okinawa
Dear Sir/Madam: Years after service in the U.S. Navy I was once again “stationed” overseas as a civilian contractor. I ran a masters level Counseling program affiliated with Bowie State University (BSU) through the larger University of Maryland University College (UMUC) undergraduate program on military bases around the world. I was teaching and working on Okinawa, mostly at Foster Marine Corps Base, but routinely at all the Bases and Camps on island. Each Sunday Armed Forces Network (AFN) television would announce the servicemen lost that previous week. This was during the height of the Middle Eastern/Iraq/Afghanistan fighting, 2005-2009. During this roll call everyone in the room would fall silent and scrutinize the faces, so many of my Marine students and families were known to us. The enclosed poem captures the mood in our off-base apartment when the roll was called and my wife was still out of the room preparing for church service. Later I gave her the full details but only the numbers before service. On a Memorial Day five years later that memory returned to me and demanded to be acknowledged publicly. The result was the poem accompanying this letter which burst into this world last year. I request you publish it in the American Legion for a larger audience.
March on Soldiers
March on Soldiers is about the symbolism of the American Flag and who are Soldiers. The song is dedicated to my brother Teddy Samuel Bear who was murdered in 1999 and he is also a former Marine.