| The Marine Corps War Memorial |  |
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Said
a Vet from Nineteen forty-five,
"Men were dying
by the score."
An eyewitness to a famous Battle
Immortalized forever more.
Quartermaster on a LST
"Eyewitness to a sad, horrible day."
"A slaughter
right there on the Beach"
Is what, this Veteran
had to say.
Coast Guardsman Robert Resnick
Was
more than just a witness there
He furnished the
Stars and Stripes
In that picture all generations
share.
A symbol for the Marine Corps
Cast in
bronze for all to see
The Flag raised on that
mountain top
Is part of our Nation's History.
One of the bloodiest Battles of the War
Fought
for thirty-six days and nights
More than twenty
two thousand Japanese
In one of the Marines
fiercest fights.
The first part of Japan we
invaded
And as Resnick's ship sat on the beach
Marine Gagnon asked him for a Flag
And a long
pipe to raise its reach.
They lost their sight of
the Marine
As he headed to that Mountain top
Amidst the gun's bullets flying
That never, ever
seemed to stop.
As they began to leave the Beach
A tremendous cheer went all around
And, "Every
ship tooted its horn."
As they raised the Flag
that he had found.
For years another was credited
Until the year, Two thousand-one
When at a Fifth
Marine Convention
The Marines learned he really
was the one.
A big, old Marine bellowed out,
"Do you really mean to tell me,
That you never
realized that you
Won that Battle,
single-handedly?"
The President of the Fifth
Marines
Made him an honorary member
And as
they did some tears were shed
As they all began
to remember
About that day sixty years ago
Up
there on Mount Surabachi
When the Stars and
Stripes were raised high
Was still a vivid,
cherished, memory. | By Del "Abe" Jones
Copyright 2005
Listed January 1, 2012 |
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