My News & Views: afghanistan

Showing posts with label afghanistan. Show all posts

Friday, February 03, 2012

"Remembrance" by Rudyard Kipling, "Lest we forget"

WOOTTON BASSETT, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Chris...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife-wife of Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid/UK

Standing by on a hilltop, Soldiers with the 10...

Image via Wikipedia public domain

Afghan children wait to receive basic medical ...

Image via Wikipedia Afghan children wait for basic medical care...

Jean Purcell

Lest We Forget

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust, And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Writers: Veterans Day, This November 11, What Did You Write?

A bagpiper with the U.S. Naval Academy Pipes a...

Image via Wikipedia

What did you write about Veterans Day if you know no one who is a veteran?
If you know no one who is now in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere?
If you know no one who is now in one of the training institutions, like West Point, US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, or the Air Force or Coast Guard academies, or the Marines? The answer is obvious, isn't it? Do you appreciate freedom won for nations by the sacrifices and shed blood of others?

Professional writers do research for fiction, news columns, and other purposes. Special days like Veterans Day are a time to pay attention and do the research.

Thankfully, my brother Gerald returned home near the end of the war, having flown more than the maximum number of combat missions in his (second) P-38 Lightning fighter. Yes, I am proud of his service during WWII. I was old enough to pick up the quiet feelings in our home, to remember the service star in our front door window, and to remember the photos taken of my mother when he sent flowers for her birthday. American services organizations helped veterans to send special gifts or notices to family, as well as mail, and they were able to keep in touch on special days. I remember my mother crying then smiling on such a gift occasion. Although I was in preschool, the impressions remained.

It honors veterans and their families whenever a writer honors their service, no matter what they did. Military cannot function without fighters and also without those who are part of provisions and other logistics, as well as medical teams.

It will mean a lot to families of military now if you write on some "angle" of service, including how the family support helps each person in service. Write about the families. Encourage the children. Let them know how much their loved one's service means to this country.

What did you write?

Thursday, November 04, 2010

What Good Are A News Columnist's Thoughts on Unknown Soldiers?

"No writer can adequately express the beauty of the service person’s call to duty; no painter can paint it, no song can capture it’s fullness no matter how beautifully each measure is written. But at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the beauty becomes clear, in silence and dignity, and something that feels like a hint of angels guarding the guards themselves. And that beauty is something we can be worthy of if we develop souls that aspire to honor only that which is good, and turn away from the trivial, the fleeting, and the evil. Time is shorter than we think, as a country and as a society. Let us use the service person’s example to shine a light that will show us the way out of the darkness. The guard walks the mat, with thoughts known only to himself and to God, who also knows the identities of the Unknown Soldiers – all of them."

Those words come at the end of a moving article by columnist Deirdre Reilly, about the 2010 U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan, after she visited the Tomb of the Unkowns, formerly known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, representing all unknowns. Written for the Reading Advocate and syndicated by Gatehouse News Service, her article is titled: Sobering Thoughts on New Troop Surge to Afghanistan. Are you a columnist? Do you ever wonder "What good are a news columnist's thoughts about...matters of importance?" Read Deirdre's entire article and see what you think then. Be encouraged to take your writing where it needs to go to be of some good. Bravo.

Opening Quote Source: Reading (MA) Advocate newspaper, of Gatehouse News Service, 2009.