Give Them No Regrets
Written by Donald L Hughes, May 2014

A cold, bitter night in the rain and sleet,
A hot, blistery day of wind and sand;
A sea, rough and harsh against the fleet,
A beach, a harsh and desolate land.

These are the landscapes of the soldier,
The places no one wants to see;
Here, with no fanfare or overture,
They face their dark, bitter enemy.

Wherein lies the courage, and the will?
Where lies their strength to go on?
How do they rise to take yet another hill,
To fight on until the threat is gone?

It is the thought of us, in our comfort chair,
Where we sit in peace and live so free;
It is knowing their fight is not in vain, and that we care,
That spurs them on to that final victory.

It is the pride of knowing they do what’s right,
And draw that line to keep the evil at bay ;
With conviction, courage and honor they face the fight,
So that We, the People, may live our lives each day.

As Kipling so aptly said, “Lest we forget, lest we forget,”
Let’s keep our soldiers in prayer and thought,
Let us not give them sorrow or reason for regret,
By not living up to the standards for which they fought.