We Gave
We gave all so you could
be free on this special day,
Please give us a moment;
there is something we must say.
As doughboys we marched,
Gen. Pershing on the way,
The enemy used mustard
gas, turning the sky a yellowish gray.
Farmers and loggers
joined to the tune of “Over There,”
Many of us did not
return, return from over there.
We were needed again to
put the fuehrer on the run,
We died with many others
under the hot Tunisian sun.
Me and other marines, we
captured that Iwo Jima
Isle,
We had men like Chesty
Puller and Ernie Pyle, men with guts and style.
A country divided by the
38th Parallel.
We remember a kid named Jimmy, he died brave and bold,
We fought not only the
enemy but the winter’s mighty cold.
From the rice paddies of
Tay Ninh to the
We fought the enemy
gallantly; many a friend had to die.
The monsoons came down
turning the
For several days and
nights Hamburger Hill ran red with blood.
Thousands of us served
under the command of Stormin’ Norm,
We quickly rose to
victory in a war known as Desert Storm.
The waiting was the
worst; we will never forget the sands,
When our fellow troops
came home it was to a marching band.
You are slowly honoring
us, be it a statue or a wall,
Please never forget us,
for we answered the call.
Written and read by Michael D. Monfrooe
Memorial Day
1996