combat writing badge C O M B A T
the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones
ISSN 1542-1546 Volume 04 Number 02 Spring ©Apr 2006



The Nation Builders



      Oh, look upon this great, free, land.
      Say that we did not give our lives in vain ....
      Can you not hold your head high for our triumph?
      You should be proud of the deeds that we accomplished.
      See that we did not give our lives to watch that freedom squandered,
      By lesser men than we ....
      The echo of our passing still reverberates through the ages.
      Dawn's first light will mirror our success.
      Early came the call as Paul Revere rode.
      Light across the common, revealed our first volley.

      What did we ask, but for only our freedom.
      So we gave our souls willingly,
      Proudly we stood in ravaged rank and file.
      We came to the call ....
      Hailed from the four corners of this New World,
      At the beckoning cry of nobler men ....
      The Minutemen, we took our stand,
      Twilight's fall will not see our passing,
      Last words will avow our valor;
      Gleaming like the stars across blue field.

      Whose lives must count the cost,
      Broad across the years of oppression;
      Stripes lay across the back of this humble people,
      And ready to stake our claim to our God given right.
      Bright we looked upon our future as
      Stars, glorious across the Heavens.
      Through the fields of Saratoga, to
      The snows of Valley Forge,
      Perilous was our quest for freedom;
      Fight or Die, Liberty or Death!

      O'er the walls our echo will ring,
      The cry of Liberty in our lungs,
      Ramparts to be taken ... Or shorn with our dead,
      We laid our lives willingly on the throne of Revolution,
      Watched by a world without care.
      Were you not proud of our deeds?
      So willing were we to sacrifice ourselves;
      Gallantly, as only the oppressed can be,
      Streaming from our homes, our farms,
      And our servitude ....
      The fear of failure, no longer an option,
      Rockets across the horizon would not sway our longing.
      Red-coats in legionous rank held our gaze, the
      Glare of crimson Sun on cold steel, chilled our blood.
      The English could not sway our courage, as
      Bombs crashed against McHenry,
      Bursting across the ramparts.
      In our sacrifice you may hold your head high ....
      Air in your lungs has the taste of Liberty ....

      Gave in sacrifice without thought on blood soaked field
      Proof we held dear, in our own Declaration.
      Through canister and cannonade we weathered the storm,
      The banshees howl of chain-shot through the corn.
      Night brings salvation to our soul ....
      That gentle lull of calm within the storm.
      Our bodies raked with pain in scarecrow's garb,
      Flag ne'r faltered in gentle, silent breeze.
      Was this the field that brought us to our knees? No!
      Still we stand on freedom's gallant eve ....
      There, some still remain in silent grave.

      Oh look upon these gardens of cold stone,
      Say you still believe in freedom's call,
      Does our sacrifice mean so little,
      That you can drag this flag upon the earth?
      Star-spangled is that crimson, white and blue
      Banner, slashed by shot and shell and brave men's blood.
      Yet this banner still stands, caressed by gentle
      Wave.

      O'er September's silent tears,
      The call to freedom has moved on to younger child.
      Land purged by war will yield a new generation
      Of Minutemen ready to answer the call.
      The drums of oppression will beat loudly.
      Free men ... Our sons and daughters will answer the call;
      And give their lives, as their fathers' fathers once did,
      The urge ... To Free the Oppressed ....
      Home will wait for their return, and
      Of sacrifice in blood ....
      The mothers once again will mourn, the
      Brave, and the fallen, in the name of Liberty.



by Lee Gudgin
... who is a former British soldier now living in the United States; currently working with graphite arts and freelance writing.




Table of
Contents
S-1:
ADMIN
S-2:
INTEL
S-3:
OPNS
Current
Issue
Back
Issues
S-4:
QM
S-5:
CA
S-6:
COMMO
Site
Map
Home
Page





C O M B A T, the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones