Through smoke of intense gunfire,
Another soldier down, by enemy attack.
Night has fallen, huddled under barbed wire,
Kissing hope, as they wait for the other unit to head back.
Soldiers praying, as they await orders from a man higher.
Fallen stars being sought endlessly, a signal of hope
Every soldier longing, for their family and friends.
Any sign of life from back home, would make it easier to cope,
Reactions of some when mail calls empty; brings bitter ends.
Another day, no shower, no sleep, energy running low,
Trampling through the night, leaving them soiled.
Taste of dust lingering upon cracked lips, body moving slow,
Attacks from the distance creeping in, as temperatures boiled.
Corporals shouting, comrade’s running in circles fast,
Kicking the dust up from the desert, trying to shield the blasts.
Battling for months, when can they go home?
Alone in a foreign place, they are trying to stay alive.
Traces of memories are starting to fade, as the mind starts to roam,
Taste of fear bitterly lingers, as for victory they strive.
Lost loved ones, friends from all branches, tears repeatedly shed,
End of the battle seems so far, when some walk, and others lay dead.
War of Freedom, full
Of suffering, heartache and pain...
For a Dedicated soldier, a man of honor, Mastergucci, Kelly, I can’t thank you enough. 15 YEARS IN SERVICE FOR THE USA...MAKING US PROUD TO BE AMERICANS
For all that you and yours have done for this Country. You are all precious gifts to me.
Author notes
To a young man I have recently met. This is dedicated to him. Thanks for taking the time to share your life with me. I appreciate it, and all that you guys/gals do. Here is a little about him. He will be retiring from the military this year do to medical reasons.
~~~~~~~~~
Mastergucci joined the AZ National Guard in1991, went to basic and AIT at ft. sill OK
He graduated to be a commo specialist for my unit (1058th Ordnance Company) and achieved the rank of specialist, E-4 in 1992
Where he received the joyful news of his wife being pregnant with their first (Austin) he then joined the army. He enlisted active duty at the rank of specialist as a 14R, line of sight, forward, heavy crew- member
His first duty assignment was hht, 4-3 Air Defense Artillery. Where he worked in the ABMOC (air battle management operations center)
His first year in Germany he was in the field for a total of seven months.
He achieved the rank of SGT (E-5) 2 years after I joined.
Once he became a SGT, he was moved to Alpha Battery, of the same unit, where he served the remainder of his tour in Germany
By the way, he enlisted in the army and shipped to training at ft. bliss (El Paso) in March of 1994
Once assigned to alpha, he became a Bradley gunner for our platoon Sgt. this is when he acquired his desire to become a master gunner.
He then re-enlisted to go back to the us (ft. Lewis WA) in 1997
He missed deploying to Bosnia because he did not have enough time remaining in Germany
He served at ft. Lewis from june1997 may 01
He was on line as a gunner again and then he got his own Bradley in 98
Then requested and received a slot in master gunner school (ft benign GA) and returned to Lewis to become the battery master gunner. (C 5/5/ADA)
Because of our unique location, he was equivalent to a battalion master gunner.
In 2001 he deployed to Korea, spent 6 months as a Bradley Commander, before throwing my MG hat back on while assigned to a BTRY 5/5 (Camp Casey Korea) 9/11 happened and changed all our lives
He then completed his tour, an was reassigned to ft. hood
…. back track... he earned the rank of ssg 1-month after graduating MG school)
Then was assigned to B Btry 1-44ADA, as a battery master gunner and trained and deployed my battery to Kuwait 7 months after arriving in TX
His words “we assaulted into Iraq around 20 April 03, I was attached to 2nd BDE (war-horse) 4id
We were responsible for baquba and the surrounding areas.
Our main body was 30 an hour away, in taji. I had a crew of 4 men and a LT, we were responsible for early warning for our brigade, and did many divers missions (civic, rebuilding, Iraqi court system advising,) outside the wire. In June of that year was reunited with our unit in Taji for the remainder of our tour. Our battery's higher headquarters were another hour north in tikrit we then secured taji and the surrounding areas through armed reconnaissance patrols, flash checkpoints, etc. in our slice.”
WHat a life of one of OUR AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
A contest entry
- Soldiers by darkangelcutter.
400 points, ended March 19, 2008, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
-
Inspiring to hear the story of this soldier. You have fought to keep what you believe to be true. I respect this Good Writing...(WO2) Howes.
-
love the beginning, definitely a lot of feeling though out the whole poem regardless though."Kissing hope, as they wait for the other unit to head back." love thatline! i hope some day i can be looked up to like the person that you have written this for, amazing write and good on you for writing it too.
-
Tory, thank you so much. Am humbled by your words and praise. You captured a unique slice of our experience as American Soldiers. The pain of seperation from everything we know is just just one of many sorrows we face when we pick up our rifles. The honor is mine, serving fine Americans like yourself, and not only preserving our freedom at home, but bringing that freedom to those that have none. I ask that everyone that reads this remember my fallen Brothers, not the skinny guy with the big gun in the picture; SPC Mondo Acosta (Taji, November 03), SPC Cody Orr (Taji, January 04), SPC Regnier (Baghdad 04), CPT Todd Christmas (killed in the line of duty stateside, flying by CH-47 from FT. Hood to Texarkana to negotiate refitting of equipment for our division's return to Iraq, November of 2004, after surving a year in combat), SPC Brandon Teeters (Baghdad, 06), SFC Bryant Herlem (Baghdad, April 06), SGT Jose Gomez (Baghdad, April 06), CPT James Funkhouser (Baghdad, Memorial Day 06) SGT Jeremy King (Slain by sniper fire towards end of tour. Jeremy and I had served together in Taji, in 03, surviving enemy contact on numerous occasions. He was a Private in 03 that I had helped train, mold and mentor into an outstanding leader in his own right), Iraqi women and child slain by the insurgency or collateral damage), the fallen and sorely missed Brothers of mine in the Iraqi army, and finally those permanently scarred both physically an psychologically in the fight to carry the torch of freedom to the cradle of civilization.
-
wow i am so sorry will you thank him for him please, i have always wanted to be a soldier but i dont think that i can cause of wieght issues and it tears me up inside cause that is my only dream but anyway thank yoiu for this and sharing this as well
-
Wow
A very powerful and personal write that is really beautifully done. The constant change of the ryming pattern always distracts me a little, but this is still a really beautifully done peice.
It was very thoughtful of you to tell us the story of the soldier that this was written for, and it made the poem even better in my mind. God bless soldiers like this man.
Good luck, and God Bless -
A powerful and well written piece. Telling a soldiers story very well and very personally. This demonstrates what a varied and wide ranging talent you have. You have the heart and soul of a writer.
Excellent work!
-
Good profile
The poetry is very fine: the subject leaves me to reflect that when someone is somewhere they really shouldn't be, doing something they really shouldn't be doing for reasons they really do not truly know, it must surely be something like the hell pictured here... DW
-
anti - war
Hello there. I'm an anti-war kind of guy so I don't want to comment on this at all -
This is an amazing story and beautifully penned.
Fallen stars being sought endlessly, a signal of hope
Every soldier longing, for their family and friends.
Any sign of life from back home, would make it easier to cope,
Reactions of some when mail calls empty; brings bitter ends.
That part I found to be especially true. Well done and best of luck in the contest.
Keira
behind.blue.eyes -
God bless the soldiers.
A wonderful piece. Congratulations.
-
Thanks for this
So many do not see the things the soldiers over here go through. This is a hard enough place to be without the enemy shooting and attacking you. I can only hope America doesnt forget its soldiers this time. Once the country wounds them there is an obligation to take care of them. Thanks for this precious piece. God bless you, Mark P. Nations Jr, MSgt (Retired) USAF
-
Wow, really inspirational. I may not entirely support the war but I completely support the troops, my parents were in the army, many of my friends have just joined it in recent years, i have friends whos children are in it. The work they do is amazing and they stand for our rights, not just america but here in australia, over in the UK, everywhere. People who say 'the troops are as bad as the suicide bombers' should be shot. Great poem!
Adding your comment:
1 - 12 of 12
