Irishcop Offline

An Open Letter to the Dead

I wrote this on a forum a few years back, you might like it. its titled "An Open Letter to the Dead.

I think it is something each of us should consider, even for those who are not American. If you are not American, these guys still died for you, and it's not just limited to American dead. For we all lost countrymen, and their nationality did not matter when it came to the personal sacrifice they made for us, for mankind.

The Greatest Generation stopped their lives to fight in far off Lands. My God, they did so, selflessly. They flew in bombers when the life expectancy was 3 weeks. They climbed in Sherman tanks that were known as Brunsons by the enemy for their propensity to "ignite every time", burning their crews to death. They waded ashore in blood and salt water through blistering explosions and hailing bullets. These supermen sweated in stiffling sweltering submarines while being depth charged, armed with %80 dud torpedos. They sailed on, and took off from ships, out gunned by the Japanese Navy. They endured the harshest conditions on the battlefield and sometimes in POW camps.
Then they came home, and built our Nation in the phenomenal post-war era.

However, this letter is to those who didnt return.

You had aspirations, you were young. You were uprooted by the deadliest war in history. You left weeping mothers, teary-eyed fathers, and loving girls. You were doing your duty, and thats all you needed to know to push you on.
You were introduced to the fiercest fighting, and surrounded by the most deplorable conditions. You died so that others might live, and no greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friends.
You died broken and battered, before the roots of your life could really even take hold. You were buried in Europe, on forgotten Pacific Islands, in sunken ships and planes, or maybe you were just vaporized.
But you werent the only ones who lost life. When your life passed away, you left grieving family, friends, and lovers. They lost a life with you. Your unborn children, and subsequent generations were lost, guiltless victims of the war. Verily, so much of life's beauty died when you shed your blood.
Let me appreciate you everyday, for all the days of my life. Let me walk thoughtfully in your legacy, free and proud. Let me be your unborn, in spirit, if not in flesh. Adopt me as your grandson, I surely love you as the grandfather I never knew. Let me keep rememberance of you, exalting you when others scoff at your intent and significance. Let me always hold you in honor.
By God's sacrifice are our souls saved, but it is by His grace and your blood that we are free.
Thank you and God Bless, Grandfather.