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Show j T.TIE rtflfin.AR j To the man in Army barracks, to the j men in camp and field, j To the Cobs who keep the sens about I our shores. Here's a toast from those who love j you. those who think they under-! under-! stand ! Those who helped you once with all your service chores. ! Just a word to pass among you, while you're waiting for retreat. As the captains dress the outfits on the band; For we once stood there beside yon, used to know you by your names, ! And through knowing you we learned learn-ed to like your brand. i When we used to swap lies with you j after mess call, every night, I And wo often tried to beat the (tame i old taps. We have answered "hyow" at mus-( mus-( ter when our names were called with yours. ; And we've shot our 3 0 In your game j of craps. Tin t the trait we like about you most ; of all the things you do. ! Is the way you take the dreary spots 1 in life. Fur we've seen you smile at tronb-I tronb-I les and we've seen you grin at i pain. "" And we've seen you Inugh at toll and bloody strife. i and have heard you In your i dreams. We have beard you softly cull sonic ' woman's nnnifl, Hut hernis" vniir sleep betrayed you 1 we fiirobnre to olT'T aid. - As wo know you wouldu't thank us . !t ! '. It for the same. How we wish all people knew you. as we knew you for a while. They would love you and respect you more because Our soldiers and our sailors may have faults, may make mistakes. Yet the finished product has but damned few flaws. You're a rough and ready fellow. that's the nature of your kind, And perhaps your talk is vicious, now and then. You will hear of "thugs in khaki" that is what we used to hear But we found that those same 'thugs were just plain men. We have known the roughest of you in your roughest, toughest, days Days when we were mighty glad to call you friend. Yet the hardest one among you, as we know from what we've seen. Did not own an earthly thing he would not lend. Were we broke, you lent us money, were we cold, you lent us clothes And the war recruits all know my words are true And the greenest one among us, learned this much, if nothing more If the Regular's your friend, he'll see you through. See you through without a whine, though there be no coming back, He will walk with death, but never count his dead. For he knows that reminiscence can be worse than H. E. shell While the job lies still undone out there ahead. He will rip a living body with the bayonet he wears, He can heel a foeman's face into the mire. Yet we've seen him calmly kneeling in some unprotected field, When he found a wounded buddy under fire. Then when he has won his battles, he is brought back home again. To be treated like a hero for a day; And the ones whom he protected, soon begin to point hlra out As the man who failed in every other oth-er way. Tf that's so. God bless your failures, keep on failing without end. Tor the land you serve needs failures fail-ures such as you; And in some great future conflict, we should like to see the ones Who call you failures show what they can do. Yet despite the names some call you and the things some say you are, All of us who soldiered with you, know you're not. And whenever we meet a knocker, you can bet your next month's pay That we hold the louse and tell him what is what. So until you get just credit, which you will someday perhaps, Here's a toast we'd like to have you know is real; "May the great good God watch o'r you; may your luck be ever good; May you always have the dough to hack the deal. NORMAN SHANNON HALL |