Freedom Is Not Free
"FOR THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR IT, FREEDOM HAS A RING THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW"
I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in a crowd.
I thought how many men like him,
Had fallen through the years.
How many had died on foreign soil...
How many mother's tears...
How many pilots' planes shot down...
How many died at sea...
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves...
No, freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times,
That taps had meant "Amen",
When a flag had draped a coffin,
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands,
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard,
At the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington,
No, Freedom isn't free!
by Kelly Strong
Copyright
1981
Written while Kelly was a senior in high school
National Moment of Remembrance
Click here or on the flag
THE
FINAL INSPECTION
The poem will really get you thinking. A must read!
In Honor and Loving Memory
of all the men and women who served and gave their best so that we can live free.
Thank You
and
God Bless You!
May you rest in eternal peace.
Take a moment to REMEMBER
Memorial Day
honors the American Military who have died in their service for their
country.