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JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
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 neighbours, 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
Bill 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 Bills 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 honour 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.
© 1985 A. Lawrence
Vaincourt
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The Vancouver
Island Military Museum is not associated with the Department of
National Defence nor the Department of Veterans Affairs |
