A Footnote
In 1776, we began as a humble nation,
Born out of rebellion and war’s desolation,
Forged in fire are we,
The land of the brave, the home of the free.
For two hundred thirty five years we’ve toiled,
Often times as tyranny’s foil,
We’ve warred amongst ourselves and still we remain,
The chosen few, at home on the range
We are no strangers to the blade, or to the gun,
From sea to shining sea, from dawn to setting sun,
Our heroes are buried across the world,
On our minds are they, when Old Glory comes unfurled.
We have endured when others have failed,
We are the land from which liberty hailed,
From the city’s bright lights to quiet dirt roads,
Our states are United, our seeds of strength sowed.
On that fateful September day, our lives were changed,
The innocent perished in a coward’s flames,
Underground he remained throughout,
As the ashes of our neighbors burned out.
As in ’41, when our soil was last attacked,
We gathered ourselves and fought back,
Across the globe in our righteous might we came,
To collect a debt in vengeance’s name
Through time and effort, your day has come,
The piper has been paid, and he claimed a hefty sum,
Your life has been extinguished, erased in the blink of an eye
By an anonymous servant of liberty, by his hand you died.
Your followers are dead or in hiding,
For now it is not time they are biding,
Your celebrating streets are silent,
For they were witness to your demise, so swift and violent
You have now joined the rank and file,
Of the tyrannical, the oppressive and reviled,
That met their end by the tip of our blade,
So that everlasting freedom shall be saved.
So, hand on my heart, I salute the fallen
As I will, long after you are forgotten,
For they will live forever in our minds,
While you remain hidden, nothing but one in a long line.
From Bunker Hill to 50,000 names on a Wall,
From Omaha Beach
We honor their memories, by spoken word and story,
As they rest eternally in God’s Glory.
** Dedicated to USN Seal Team Six and the memory of Roy H. Butler, Sr., W.L. Stephens, W.C. Scott and every other American who has served abroad in defense of our nation.