Just Stay
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.
'Your son is here,' she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack,

he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside

the oxygen tent.

He reached out his hand.

The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's

limp ones, squeezing a message

of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair

so that the Marine could sit

beside the bed.

All through the night the

young Marine sat there

in the poorly lighted ward,

holding the old man's hand

and offering

him words of love and strength

Occasionally, the nurse

suggested that the Marine

move away and rest awhile.

He refused.

Whenever the nurse came

into the ward,

the Marine was oblivious of her

and of the night noises

of the hospital -

the clanking of the oxygen tank,

the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings,

the cries and moans

of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned.

She started to offer words

of sympathy,

but the Marine interrupted her.

'Who was that man?'

he asked.
The nurse was startled,

'He was your father,'

she answered.

'No, he wasn't,' the Marine replied.

'I never saw him before in my life.'

'Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?'

'I knew right away there had been a mistake,
but I also knew he needed his son, and his
son just wasn't here.
When I realized that he was too sick to tell
whether or not I was his son,
knowing how much he needed me, So I stayed.'

Marine Drill Instructors
Parris Island and San Diego

"Unsung Heroes"

He shuffled from the shower
and laid down on his bunk
that shower sure had felt good
after the way he had stunk

Just four weeks ago
he had been back home
making out with his girlfriend
whenever they were alone

The letter had said greetings
and he knew it wasn’t a joke
he packed up his bags
and said good bye to his folks

One last night with his girlfriend
she said that she would wait
he climbed aboard the greyhound
no way he was going to be late

Now laying in this bunk
he could hear the bugles blowing
what was going to happen tomorrow
he had no way of knowing

you’re left you’re right
you're left right left
if you don’t get in step
I’m going to kick your butt

Eyes up chest out
get yourselves in line
this sorry bunch
is a waste of my time

Hurry it up people
you’re not moving at all
get your ass
up over that wall

give me that rifle
you don’t carry it like that
you’ve got spit for brains
under that hat

My eyes slowly opened
I wondered where I could be
hey this is my own bedroom
and that’s Nightline on TV

It had only been a dream
of another time and place
I thought about it now
and it brought a smile to my face

Back in the Nam
In every battle that I had fought
the first thoughts that came to me
were the things that I had been taught

Looking back at bootcamp
it is so easy for me to see
a mean SOB in a smoky bear hat
Had made a man out of me

If I knew where he was today
I would go shake his hand
And tell him that in my eyes
he is one hell of a man

Thank you Drill Instructors!