God Bless America Have We Forgotten
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Thank you To Our Soldiers
Often we take our citizenship for granted and on Memorial Day weekend 2004 as WWII vets, Korean War Vets, Vietnam Vets, and all other War Vets past and present donned their uniforms and gave their salutes while marching down Catalina, in Redondo Beach I came to realize that we sometimes take for granted what being a U.S. citizen is all about. It was a beautiful day a balmy 72 and the smell of the Ocean was in the Air, I became teary eyed as those soldiers paid tribute to fallen soldiers past and present and the poem that I am about to share came to mind, as we cannot forget those who are fighting for our Country or have lost their lives to protect our Land. I have published this poem and wish to thank every man and woman who has served our Country or who is still fighting a War. To the young who are enlisting I commend you for being brave and bold enough to step in the next man's shoes.
Freedom
Today I will walk barefoot in the grass, I will feel the sharp tips of the grass between my toes.
Today I will walk on the warm pavement and feel the heat penetrate the bottom of my feet, the rocks ever so gently rolling underneath the curve of my foot.
Today I will walk barefoot in the sand, feeling the fine grains roll through my toes,to the back of my heels.
Today I will feel the wind blow through my hair and its fingertips brush my shoulders.
Today I will look out into the vast place we call an Ocean and admire the mysteries,beauty and serenity that it holds.
Today I realized I am who many call American,
Proud to be Free,
Proud to walk, feel, see and breathe Freedom.
Copyright © 2008
To My friend Sandy who served in the Navy Thank You for pushing me to publish this poem.
To all of our Military Thank you for giving us this God Given right and to all the ones that are serving, come home soon we miss you.
You are welcome to comment as I am hoping that this will reach our military and thank anyone you wish, or send a message out in the comment box as I am certain that they will be happy to hear from you.
Please also take just a couple of minutes to listen to the song as it is beautiful and is a reminder of what we and our military do and should stand by.
God Bless America A Salute to the Military
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Comments
Nice AEvans, I especially liked this line "and its fingertips brush my shoulders"
Wonderful. Thank you.
Obviously written with pride! Thanks for sharing. :D
Just_Rodney: Thank you we still love all of our brothers in sisters in other countries however there was something about that day that made me realize the importance of being an American.
Patricia: Thanks for commenting and appreciate that piece. :)
Vladimir: You are sincerely welcome.:)
Cris A: On that day it gave me chills as I rushed back on wrote my thoughts in a notebook, I have now revealed it so that I can share it with others and it was absolutely written with pride.:)
Very, very nice. Thank you.
Beautiful imagery. Short and sweet.
Well done they deserve it. I hope Obama gives them enough financial and moral support to the soldiers when they return unlike the previous administration.
cgull8m: I hope so too !! They all deserve it and they should not be forgotten.:)
Beautiful. We are so blessed to be Americans and it is good to see that remembered.
I think we are too!!! Sometimes I want to runaway to the beach and push my toes through the sand as I am so grateful for our soldiers and our freedom.:)
Wow so very well written. I love it.
blondepoet: Thanks it was well thought through and I embrace being an American at that moment in my life. :)
Great hub. My daughter is in Iraq, Army.
MaryAnne09: My prayers are with her and tell her thanks from me , as she is one of those soldiers that we are proud of, and we should all be happy to be American as if it were not for them, we would mostly likely be invaded. It is only the brave who serve this Country and she is one of them.:)
very nice!
Amanda: Thanks!!!:)
Great Hub Great Poem, But I believe it was Gandhi who said ( and I could be wrong) What if they gave a war and nobody came." Jesus don't like killing no matter what the reason for" and you flag decal want get you into heaven anymore.
"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose", no one can take what you refuse to give them. our country is beautiful, the people in it our country beautiful, and a hell of a lot of them need a hell of a lot of help and are suffering because many our people are dying here and in foreign places because our priorities are screwed up. And the GOVERMENT is to blame not the men and women who have been forced to fight in Iraq, when they did not want to, just like Vietnam..the wrong place. Afghanistan if anywhere is where we should be and The former President George Bush will go down in history as the worst president ever, saying a lot when you remember Nixon.
I should have added to the above statement that your poem is beautiful, and yes it is great to live in a country where we have the freedom to state our minds, and walk free in the grass. And my home overlooks the ocean and as I was standing on my porch this morning I thought of your poem again and how lucky I am.
Sandman: I checked in this morning and low and behold there were so many comments. You are so luck to live in a place where your home overlooks the ocean as that to me is God's place. Vast, beautiful, peaceful and the smell of the Ocean is a great place to be. :)
So True and I never forget that, I love the desert and obviously the mountains, but the ocean is my first love. Our country is so beautiful and I have been lucky enough to see most of it. It sometimes angers me that people want to travel to other countries before they have fully appreciated our own. The desert of New Mexico, The cliffs of La Jolla. The Smoke or Allegheny mountains. What beauty lies almost at our finger tips. I think I just got a new idea for my next Hub, you inspire me.
Sandman: Write that article and am definitely looking forward to the next hub.::) I am so glad that I have inspired you as all of you have inspired me to be all that I can be!!!:)
Sandman - I have to say I believe that I would not be an adherent to your belief system. Jesus was God in the flesh and of course he was a peaceful man and always looked for the peaceful way for everything. However, all through out the old testament He (as God) poured out much wrath when he felt it necassary. That of course is not an excuse for us to do so but just an example that there are times when it is appropriate. There are times when a moral people must stand up and make things right. Just for some future info ....there will come a day when Gods wrath will be poured out upon the earth (book of revalation) and thats the God that nobody living will like. ...... but God is God.
Robert: That is a wonderful comment and you are God is god and thank you for serving our country!!! :)
May we never forget.
Thanks.
R.Burow: I hope we don't forget we had better not. :)
Thank you AE...I am also: Proud to be Free...and always mindful of the cost...even before I felt firsthand the price of Freedom. We have what we have at huge costs. Thanks for making this point known!
manlypoetryman: You are so welcome and I hope that others read your hubs and that your son is honored on memorial day for serving our country. Stand Proud Stand Free!! :)
AEvans,
As this day to remember draws closer I am so very glad to have found this hub and I am humbled by the depth of this poetry.You are welcome and thank you for posting this.
Beautiful poem from a beautiful soul. Thank you.
TheMindlessBrute: You are so welcome and I hope that all remember the sacrifices that our military has given to allow us the freedom that we have today.:)
TomCornett: You are so welcome!!:)
You have done a wonderful job expressing the value of freedom and the price we owe to those who make it possible. Thanks!
Peggy W: You are so welcome not only am I honored by those who are serving. I now have a niece and nephew who are military, and my family has alo served.
I'm proud to be an American, and proud to have served in the USN! A belated happy 4th July to you, and thanks for this moving hub!
christansek: Thank you so much for serving our Country , I am honored that someone in the military has read this tribute. :)
Ok, I read the poem, and I read the story before it. I found myself remembering the one friend I lost, and choking back the painful memories. Thank you for not forgetting and honoring all service members who have fought, bled, and died for this war. Also thank you for honoring the men and women who went before to wars like, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and OIF. Not to mention the other conflicts of years past. You have inspired a hub idea. Thanks again
wesleycox: I didn't meant to bring back sad memories, I just wanted to let you know that you are not forgotten. We miss all of you over here and many of us are praying for your safe return. Please drop e-mails to let me know that you are o.k. or keep writing so that we continue to know that all is well. God Bless !!
I will continue to write. I hope that what I write in the future can have as much of an impact as this beautiful hub has had on me.
wesley: It will as you truly have a story to tell and I am looking forward to them. :)
You wrote that so beautifully,....I'm teary eyed now. I also hope many soldier's and their families get to read this, so they know just how much they are appreciated. HOOAH !!!
Army Infantry Mom: Thank you!! It came from my heart and I will not ever forget that day it will be forever etched in my memory. I always carried a notebook with pencil I loved to sketch and write and as the breeze blew through my hair and the wind captured my dress, I sat down on the sand looking out in the Ocean and wrote that poem. I also published it on Poetry.com it is a tribute to our soldiers and they should not ever be forgotten. :)
Very well done thank your for such a gift
Hmr: You are welcome!:)
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Just_Rodney says:
10 months ago
Great hub.