Daddy, where are you? With my cry in the night, No dad by my bed, gone to war, mama said. 78th division, you said to me, Told me about your big gun, Far across the wide grey sea. Daddy, don’t get killed please!
I miss you dad, come home again to Springfield. Your letters to this boy can’t replace your love Where is Belgium, dad? Is the enemy there? The twins want to know, daddy, When you will be home again.
Hear the sobs of my heart, of your son far from you. War’s not a game anymore, I’m scared for you. Where are your letters, dad? Has something happened? Mama cries every night, dad, Linda and Nancy, do, too - Please tell me you are all right!
Endless days of waiting, Oh, daddy, daddy… Where are you? Daddy, I need you here with me! Is your body lying dead on some barren field? Or are you like a caged bird, Trapped behind metal bars, Wings pinned so you can’t fly?
I hear them talking, daddy, Something about POW’s. What’s that daddy? Does it mean you’re coming home? A prisoner, daddy? Locked in a cold dark room? Why’d you let it happen, dad? Why can’t you get home from there?
A letter, dad, a letter! It’s been five months, Now to know you’re alive, and coming home at last!
Were you scared, daddy, when the tanks rolled in? When they said they’d shoot – or could you surrender? Did you ever run? Would they have killed you? When you worked, was it hard? I missed you so much, dad. Dad, don’t ever leave again.
Were you hungry? Or did they feed you very well? But you’re skinny. Hurrah for mama’s cooking! Then when the allies came, were you happy, dad? Did you all sing, did you dance? But now you’re home – I love you. Now we’ll sing, and we’ll dance, dad.
With my beloved wife and my two daughters, I look back on those days, thirty two years past, As we gaze at the place you were held captive. Daddy, now many more years passed, My granddaughters are all grown, You no longer on this earth.
I miss you, dad, but all you’ve done lives on. Thank you, dad, for the price you paid for us, The love you had, That my granddaughters might be free. Thank you, daddy, for your sacrifice.
I miss you, daddy, But this home again is safe and free – because of men like you Who bravely fought and died, On bloody battlefields and beaches.
I never knew my great grampa, or "Papo," that well, but I remember being fascinated with his stories of World War II.
Inspired by Vision Forum's wonderful video, The League of Grateful Sons I decided to write this.
I don't know how my grandfather thought as a young boy when his dad was away, but I imagine thoughts similar to these ran through his head.
Papo was in the 78th Division, which fought at Battle of the Bulge (we got to go to a monument for it in Belgium this summer, and there it was, the badge of the 78th carved into a pillar with those of other divisions.)
Papo, however, didn't fight at the Battle of the Bulge, because the day before he'd been taken prisoner. The rest of his division had been searching through houses, but he and 6 others went on ahead with the tanks. They were given the chance to surrender or be shot.
All six chose to be shot.
He was a P.O.W. for five months, then went home.
Years later, he, my grampa, gramma, mom, and one of my aunts visited the city where he was a prisoner.
He died around five years ago, but the legacy of the men who fought for us - on bloody battlefields and beaches - to prevent the spread of Nazism still prevails.
--- Thank you, WWII Veterans ----
Comments
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Hmmmm....where have those noble, selfless, sacrificial thoughts gone?
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives presicely when he means to." Gandalf
Oh this was so good!!! My
Oh this was so good!!! My great-grandfather fought in WWII too.
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"Pretty soon people are going to come to look at it. And some of those people will be... realtors!"--Klaus Baudelaire
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"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it." -- Herman Melville
wonderful
this was/is a wonderful poem, kyleigh.
This is amazing, Kyleigh.
This is amazing, Kyleigh. So full of emotion and noble thoughts. I love it.
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"Elves and Dragons! Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too big for you." — Hamfast Gamgee (the Gaffer)
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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." -Bilbo Baggins [The Lord of the Rings]
Beautiful!
Beautiful and very well done. And a heartfelt "Thank you" to every last one of those brave soldiers and POWs.
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"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13
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Brother: Your character should drive a motorcycle.
Me: He can't. He's in the wilderness.
Brother: Then make it a four-wheel-drive motorcycle!
Oh....Reminds me of my
Oh....
Reminds me of my great grandfather.
That was a very sentimental "oh", btw.
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He who is near to his Captain is sure to be a target for the archers.
-Amy Carmichael
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief