Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: bmwgs on February 28, 2011, 06:40:28 AM
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_last_wwi_veteran (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_last_wwi_veteran)
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Fred
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Big time!
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I saw that on the news this morning, truly saddening
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JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
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, every one.
And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old [Frank] has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though 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 their whole 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
A guy who breaks his promises 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?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that 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 the old [Franks] of our Country 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 want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer 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 a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
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:salute Sad to see him go.
According to NBC nightley news there are still two others alive and well from WWI, well this was from 2007 they could be long gone by now.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#18909077
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Wow. I heard that we were losing WW2 vets at more than a thousand per day. Hell, my dad served in Vietnam and he's old and frail now. I believe that these guys really don't want us to remember them personally (heros just don't think that way)... I think all they ask for in the twilight of their life is for us to remember what they did.
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USAFPilot
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yeah i saw that on my homepage.very sad
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:salute Participant in both World Wars, POW in Japanese prison camp, 110 years old.............. one tough soldier. Why were they called doughboys?
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If you know someone who was in WW2 talk to them. A buddy of mine dad was a P-51 pilot in WW2 and he just passed a while ago and I wished I could have talked to him alot more :salute
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:salute Participant in both World Wars, POW in Japanese prison camp, 110 years old.............. one tough soldier. Why were they called doughboys?
The Great War Society put this up and even mentioned the late Mr. Frank Buckles in part of it. It might help with this question, but there is no definitive answer.
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/origindb.htm
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Saw it on the news. Brave soul, that man.