Sacrificial Lambs: Tuesday Writing Essentials

A wonderful tribute to all those that have served and are serving William, including yourself, thank you for submitting to TWE, hope you are well, love, Elsie

Thank you. I was lucky to have never seen war. I was stationed in West Germany.
Thank you.

I'm much better. The past 3 days, especially yesterday had me in my sick bed most of the time. I had a cold & stomach flu.

I have featured this poem on TWE, and William, if you spent all your time in your home town, you still served, and I am proud to know you for that and many other reasons, I hope you feel better, I have something starting up too, feels like a cold, hope not, it is very hot here, in the high eighties with lots of humidity. Take care, love, Elsie

Thank you. I'm much better.
I like hot weather.
I have a rare totally free day of no real chores. I was going to spend time on Gather, but the lack of comments makes me feel unappreciated, so I will just turn off my PC.
Take care.

I am so sorry William, have been so work,work,working and not having much time for Gather but I was touched by your post. It reminds me of my older brother who served in VietNam and came back so ill at heart.
Please know that you are not unappreciated...neglected badly by me but never unappreciated.

That's nice of you to say Karen.
I was lucky to get sent to West Germany during the Vietnam War. My friend Bob was sent to Vietnam. After he came home, he was deeply disturbed and this once cheerful dude moved away and became a loner.
I think the horrors of war affected many and it's very sad.

Now I was never in the service, but many service guys (and my aunt) in my family. My cousin was born in West Germany, because my uncle was stationed there.

Isn't West Germany the first friendly station men see when they're headed home? If so, you were a very pretty face and a calming influence for soldiers. Even if your job was to guard the gate or clean the bathrooms, it's important to see a face you can trust, after being stuck in a place with so many unknown faces, who are potential enemies. And, if they never saw your face, they still needed whatever you supplied. Any which way, never underestimate the behind the scene needs. You mattered, so thank you.

As for stomach virus. Be careful. Most of what we consider as stomach viruses are really cases of food poisoning. Hubby and I used to get them all the time, until he saw one of the owners of a little store we used to go to, flop raw chicken on the counter, but he didn't clean up afterwards. Same counter everyone placed their purchases on to be rung up. Hubby asked him, "Aren't you going to clean that?" The guy laughed and said, "You're kidding. We do that all the time."

Hubby left what he was going to buy on the counter and left. We haven't been back and we haven't had stomach problems (of that kind) since. We also clean our hands before and after grocery shopping. You never know who doesn't think it's important to wash their hands.

I enjoyed living in Bavaria. Yes, it was a place for some soldiers returning from Vietnam to get reaclimated with Western culture. A few caused serious trouble and were arrested and jailed.
My stomach problems are complicated by an umbilical hernia and because of mild lactose intolerance. I used activated charcoal last night. I've had food poisoning and this is just food mixtures I can't digest well. Thank you for your concern.

William, my brother Bud was a driver for a Colonel during the Korean conflict, and served in Germany too, he loved that tour. Take good care of yourself, i love you, Elsie

I had an uncle Bud on my mom's side. I was lucky because my tour was playing guitar in the US Army Showband and then driving all kinds of supply trucks around Germany.
Goodnight and sweet dreams.

My brother was named Bud, (called that ) because he was born at home, and I was not quite two, and when I heard him cry I said there's my Buddy,because I couldn't say brother yet, and it stuck with him all his life, He was a gregarious and generous man, had ten children, loved each one more than anything in the world, miss him, he passed away the year I turned 60, he was 57. All his sons, eight, joined the Vietnam era conflict to get their own bed. Not supposed to be funny, but the truth. One son, his second is still in the Army married to someone in the Army and keeps in touch with me. I would say he must be getting ready to retire now as must be about 55 I think. Amazing you have an uncle Bud, I went to bed
at 2:30 AM, so tired, but feel better today, take care of yourself, love you, Elsie

I've been with my wife, mom, daughter and her dog for most of this weekend. Left the computer off except for last night between 3~5:30 a.m.
My unckle Bud passed away 5 years ago. It is good to keep in touch with good people your brother knew.
I have a lot of ketchup to do. I might post a story for GWE, if what I wrote yesterday morning okay. I'm almost afraid to look, since I was on my fifth beer when writing it.
My wife is going to Japan for 2 weeks on Tuesday.

I keep in touch with all of my nephews and nieces, had fourteen of them, and I bet if you had five beers it will be a pip. I know you are going to miss your wife, take good care of yourself, love, Elsie

Well, I edited it and it was such a pip that I put an adult theme tag on it and did not spotlight it.

well, then I am going to go look for it, :) love, Elsie

This is such a haunting and moving piece, William. I hope peace smiles and wins someday, but unless war becomes unprofitable, it never will.

I wrote this to reflect the reality of how soldiers are treated with mostly empty promises. Our treatment of our wounded soldiers and the families of those who gave their life out of duty is simply like our Congress: Full of deceitful disgraceful men.
Thank you.

Good tribute piece and the calls of duty - thanks for sharing :-)

Thanks for submitting to
The Surreal Circus.

Anyone who has been a soldier knows the responsibility of duty.
Thank you.

Great Memorial Day poem. Our soldiers give up a lot to protect us.

Yes they do. Unless you've been a soldier it's hard to understand the sacrifice of duty.
Thank you.

This is a fine statement of the essence of Memorial Day in you inimitable style, William.

They way I wrote this was to make each stanza different in manner of message to show the many facets of a soldier's life.
Thank you.

Yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald had a Leunig cartoon

"The fighting season's here again
and from Afghanistan the stain
of War comes home. the home succumbs
as all the cliches beat like drums.

And even as the wreaths are laid,
the shameless cliches are replayed:
the same old lines and nothing more,
as grief becomes the call to war.

I don't agree with the sentiment but it did make me think, as two more Australian soldiers were laid to rest.

I find the second stanza rather cynical.
Thank you.

The guy is anti-war, and therefore cynical about the reasons for going to war - he doesn't believe anything is worth fighting for. As I said "I don't agree:" some things are worth the sacrifice.

I come at this with the Zen that war is sorrow and cynical words can cause sorrows: I think both counter-productive, since both have a negative base.
I fully understand your feeling and yes, some things are worth the sacrifice.

I've never served, but during my time at drug rehab and then working for them afterwards, I talked to soldiers about things they usually don't talk to civies about. There's a lot of heart behind this poem. I hope some soldiers read it. I'm sure they're tired of empty words. These words are as deep as words can get. Thank you.

That is very nice of you to say. The way our Vets are treated is very uneven. Too many fall through the cracks.
Thank you.

nicely done...thank you.

Thank you.

A lovely tribute.

Thank you.
I had been thinking about a Pete Seeger song before writing this.

Pete performed at our college in the 1950's.

When I first learned guitar, I played Pete Seeger music. I learned chord patterns this way. I do love Folk music. I lived on Silver Lake not far from Ann Arbor. The lake has a State Park beach. It was the early 60's and Folk was still big. I think people like Guthrie & Seeger helped start song political lyrics that grew into the song lyric poetry of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Cat Stevens to name a few. I've seen tapes of early Bob Seeger and he was rather animated and yet very richly talented. A great showman.

"When, long ago, kept honor, faith, duty" Yes!

Three words deceit can never master.
Thank you.

You write with passion, Bill. The title is an eye-opener.

Is there any other way to write?
Thank you.