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Keith at Tregenna
4th August 2011, 12:01 AM
Forgotten Heroes

by Milton E. Kniebes

To those who fought and bled and died,
That God's gift of freedom might always abide!
With weapons, flags and spirit bold,
Did wars on foreign shores unfold.

The tanks and guns with soldiers brave
Were carried over the restless wave.
The seas above and the subs below,
With the Merchant Marine they had to go.

It's strange some folks will ask today,
What part in the war did the Merchant Marine play?
Can it be as history counts the cost,
The page with the answer seems to be lost.

With the battles over and victory won,
The troops came home where they started from.
They marched in parades with much adulation,
Along with the thanks from a grateful nation.

I see a man watching the parade passing by.
It seems that I see a tear in his eye.
Did he not serve for the land that he loved,
In the Merchant Marine below decks or above?

He remembers the heat and the sweat down below,
The fear of torpedoes; what a way to go.
The men on the bridge in the wild North Atlantic,
In danger of ice or a submarine's antics.

So he stands there atone as the band plays a tune,
Reflecting how his part was forgotten too soon.
Take heart my brave shipmate if no glory you share,
In the logbook of Heaven you'll find it all there.

Your watch here on earth is not really over,
As long as you tread the topside of clover,
So lift your head high as old Glory you see.
Thank God that you served for the land of the free