Brave Young
I see the young Marine
walk through the front door
back from war
and cannot help but think
about how close he
came to being a sad memory.
Oh, so very near
is the proud hidden tear.
He only told me
about this one time,
where he felt the breeze
of spraying bullets around his head
with one coming
a whisper away from an ear.
Oh, so very near
is the proud hidden tear.
Nor will I forget
the look in his much older eyes
when he finished by telling me
that he would not be here today
if it were his Marines shooting at him.
"We don't miss!" still echoes strong.
Oh, so very near
is the proud hidden tear.
And it is the same
with this Marine's fellow troops...
all doing their noble best,
meeting each difficult test
that comes their way
out of love for the USA,
and to keep us all free
and safe from what could be.
Oh, so very near
is the proud hidden tear.
They are our brave young
who should never go unsung;
are deserving of the utmost respect;
and, need every prayer asking God to protect
with special heartfelt thoughts for all
those wounded and the ones who do fall
while answering America's call
to keep Her standing strong and tall.
Oh, so very near
is the proud hidden tear.
David G. Bancroft
Copyright 2005/Video 2021
All Rights Reserved
Author's Note:
I wrote the poem, Brave Young, in response to my youngest son's near death
miss that he told me about while serving in Iraq ... It took him over a year
to tell me, after I originally asked about "any close calls". He also
received two Navy and Marine Achievement Medals for outstanding performance
in combat during the Iraq War in 2003.
Then nearly 16 years after writing the poem, I decided to create the
associated video that was still emotionally hard to do, especially the
narrative that resurfaced the heart grabbing emotions felt when learning how close he came
to paying the ultimate sacrifice for our beloved country ... as is the case
for many troops and veterans who experienced death's passing embrace.
"Brave Young" also honors all USA active, veteran, wounded, disabled, and
fallen military members for valiantly going beyond self for country sake!