Reasons to Remember?

An Ai image for sure, but it speaks to Arlington, and the reason for its existence. Thank you to the fallen many.

Some say that in the White House

There resides another Cyrus.

Others Say that in Congress

All the corruption is a virus.

These Days we cannot help but wonder

What did they all die for?

The nation drowns in debt

And yet nobody wants to count

All the wasteful spending

That to the wise would seem tantamount.

These Days we cannot help but wonder

What did they all die for?

From the mainstream to podcast news

All we can do is shake our heads.

We see protests and corrupt judges

Politicians that make their beds.

These Days we cannot help but wonder

What did they all die for?

Yet every single year, a sacred time rolls around.

A reason for the picture, a soldier on sacred ground.

The Tomb of the Unknown; all of those white crosses

The blood that was shed, and all the families' losses.

From the fourth of July of '76, to an Infamous December

May each of those white crosses be our Reasons to Remember!

Once again, what did they die for?

The question is often asked.

How did we get to where we are

To seem to minimalize their task?

Perhaps we need not justify

The courage and bravery of those lost.

Perhaps we need not wonder

Why so many thousands paid the cost.

Whether it was in a boat with Washington

Or on some battlefield in 1812...

Whether it was when we were first divided

Giving our own countrymen hell-

Whether it was in the Belleau Wood

Or on the islands of Japan

Whether it was in the mountains of Korea

Or in some 'Charlie' jungle-land.

Whether it was on an aircraft carrier

Off the coast of the hammer and sickle,

Whether it was in some Middle Eastern Desert

Off the American taxpayers' nickel,

Whether it was Fallujah or Basra

Or that debacle in Afghanistan,

Whether it was in the Syrian Desert

Or against warlords in African lands...

Another year gone, that sacred time has rolled around

It's time to honor all of those who are buried on sacred ground.

May they continue to guard the Unknown, May you see all those white crosses,

Regardless of the politics, or the regret for families' needless losses,

Blood was still shed, So many brought home in boxes of timber -

Lord, may all of those flag-draped coffins, be our Reasons to Remember!

This goes out to all of those that died. I am an American. Yes, our nation is flawed -

But I refuse to ever believe those soldiers who've gone home, gave their lives in vain.

God Bless America, while we still have it.

JEF