Bury Me With Soldiers
On the cusp of Memorial Day I thought I would share one of my favorite poems. I read this poem at the closing of a speech this week entitled, "Memorial Day. What it is and What it Means for All of Us." While it honors the fallen, it also sends a message (verses five and six) to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts found in many companies today.
Memorial Day is supposed to hurt. Lest we forget. You can read more of my thoughts in an article I published last year. If you have a veteran or a veteran's family member in your company, under your charge, or in your life, share this poem with them. Refrain from saying, "Happy Memorial Day," or "Thanks for your service." Memorial Day is not about the living. It is about those true heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Instead, you could say, "Like you I'm thinking about the fallen this weekend. I thought I would reach out and join you in remembrance."
In remembrance.
Rob
Bury Me With Soldiers
Charles R. Fink
199th Light Infantry, Vietnam
I've played a lot of roles in life;
I've met a lot of men.
I've done some things I'd like to think
I wouldn't do again.
And though I'm young, I'm old enough
to know some day I'll die,
And to think about what lies beyond,
beside whom I would lie.
Perhaps it doesn't matter much;
still, if I had my choice,
I'd want a grave 'mongst soldiers when
at last death quells my voice.
I'm sick of the hypocrisy
of lectures of the wise.
I'll take the man, with all the flaws,
who goes, though scared, and dies.
The troops I knew were commonplace
they didn't want the war;
They fought because their fathers and
their fathers had before.
They cursed and killed and wept---
God knows
they're easy to deride--
But bury me with men like these;
they faced the guns and died.
It's funny when you think of it,
the way we got along.
We'd come from different worlds
to live in one no one belongs.
I didn't even like them all;
I'm sure they'd all agree.
yet I would give my life for them,
I hope; some did for me.
So bury me with soldiers, please,
though much maligned they be.
Yes, bury me with soldiers, for
I miss their company.
We'll not soon see their like again;
we've had our fill of war.
But bury me with men (and women) like them
'till someone else does more.
Rob Campbell