Message To A Teenaged Boy...
From a Viet Nam Vet Named: Ron...

"Life offers enough challenges...Combat and war make living hard for some. Remember the peer pressure from school? If so...Magnify that 4 times fold. Now instead of wanting to belong to the in crowd you just want to live another day...See your family one more time...Kiss your favorite girlfriend...Hold your dog or just take a shower...That will put a little perspective on it...

SEMPER FI..."


"RON'S WALL"

Ron touched a name
Upon a Wall
And felt his own wall
Crumble...
As memories fell like mortar
And tears flowed
Like monsoon rain
Washing clean a dirty delta...
Long buried pain
Became uncovered
As Ron began to recover
That precious thing
Called:
His Soul...
And so do we all
Begin again...
Cheered on by souls of others
Who will always remain
Standing bravely on a Wall
Yet never really
By any means walled in...
It takes a man
To scale a wall...
And it took
Over fifty-eight thousand!!!
To bring just one
Wall
Back Home...
To the World...
Where their names
Could be reclaimed
And touched by a man
Named:
Ron...
Who had the courage
To brave one incredible
Wall
Reaching up...
Blessing all...
With one healing touch
Of his open hand
Saying:
"I remember how they lived..."
And
The Wall
Still stands...
Baring its open soul
To all who do
On whatever level
Remember
They forever live...
For they are still with us all
Every single day
That we remember
How we too must live...



Ron Jeffery/sv

©1999

The 1st Batt. 26 Marine Regiment, Charlie Co. from March 67 to April 68.
"To all my fallen colleagues...who gave all that was asked, may our memories of you never rest. To those of us who returned and at one time or another wondered why we were chosen, keep your chin up, someone had to tell the story..."



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