© caliber
War creates
from moment to moment
a dark poem
written
within the instant flash
of death......
that frames a picture
blood red
and flowing forever into time.
The lost
are young ghosts!
The old can only try.... have often cried
to understand the loss
of those who died.
Soldiers,
Nurses,
and brothers...
Sisters of mercy;
and young Doctors;
who took
no side!
© stacey
You will not find her name
Etched upon a wall
Of dark, cold granite.
To many people, she is not even known.
But in the year that I have worn her bracelet,
My admiration for her has grown.
I can see her now
As tough as ever
Helping those who are sick
Some will live, and some will die
But she must keep going on.
Another day is nearing its end
But something now is terribly wrong.
She and two others are taken away
To a destination unknown.
I can see her now
As tough as ever
But in a much better place.
She is now in the hands of God Almighty
A very worthy destination
For this angel of mine.
---<--{© Marsha (Chantaclair Rose) Steed '01
'Ticket for one.' Said the bright-eyed young man.
'No, I'll not be returning just yet.' Again with a smile.
The Dalton ticketeer returned the smile, she always did
to men in uniform.
'Off to the war?' So many needed a smile just then.
This was not a war that was well supported
at home.
'Oh, I'm going to serve in a medical facility.'
He looked so young. So ready for life.
'Good luck then!'
A tip of his hat, and he was gone.
'Yes, all of us will be returning.' Replied the mother of four.
'No, I don't mind serving with my husband.
He is an incredible man.' Tucking a strand of hair
behind the ear of her oldest daughter,
and straightening her oldest son's collar, she beamed.
'We don't mind, these people need us. Yes, I know
they are the enemy, but they need help, and we are going.'
That was the end of that.
The husband
in uniform
looked on and smiled proudly.
How he loved his family.
'My mother always told me I should be a doctor,
with handwriting like mine!'
She had laughing eyes
this pretty young woman, with the big dreams.
'Afterall, the Lord will see me through, what I can't do
He can.'
The ticketeer stamped her passport
smiled and shook his head
and as she walked away with a bounce in her step,
wiped away a tear.
For your willingness
we are awed.
For your sacrifice
we are humbled.
For your safety
we pray.
© stacey
30 May 1962. South Vietnam.
A sister, a daughter, a civilian surgeon.
A husband, a father, an administrator.
A son, a fiance, a peace missionary.
Three people who had heard God's call
Had come to help and instead were harmed.
They did no wrong; that mattered not.
They were taken away
To who knows where.
The years passed, and the strain grew.
A wife and four children returned home,
still without her husband, their father.
A young nurse would never marry the missionary;
She was later murdered in the Tet offensive.
Back in Texas, a family still hoped
That their daughter, a sister, a twin
Would come back to them.
Forty years later,
the families still wait,
hearts still grieve,
and people still remember ...
... Dr. Eleanor Ardel Vietti, aged 35
Archie Emerson Mitchell, aged 48,
and Daniel Amstutz Gerber, aged 21. |