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Contributor: Thurman P. Woodfork || Poem Categories

Memorial Day Memories country as flag
Memorial Day and memories,
A time for somber reflection...
So it would seem. But my unruly
Mind wanders in its own direction.

When I look at my brother's picture,
He in his graduation cap and gown,
Hanging all those years on the wall,
I'm not moved to a mournful frown.

It isn't his death that comes to mind
When my eyes rest upon him there;
It's the joy he brought in his short life,
The caring and the love he shared.

And Vietnam � it isn't just visions
Of pain, and of death, and war;
It wasn't always Bombs and Blood
During my stay in old III Corps.

We perched up on the sand bags,
Swapped lies and sang some songs,
And we built a few warm memories
That still are holding strong.

I remember Liar's Dice one time,
And a wild trip into Tay Ninh
To the Green Door in the wee hours,
And the trouble we'd have been in

Had Top or the VC intercepted us
As we made our tipsy flight
Down dark roads on a crazy whim
In Top's �borrowed' jeep that night.

My mind touches on friends I made
During those happy years in Spain,
Though some have passed from this
Life, their memories bring no pain.

Yes, I've spent time in a place or two,
And I've met a lot of folks.
In truth, I didn't like every one; it
Wasn't all sunshine and jokes.

But it's the camaraderie I recall, the
Card games, the harmony, the pranks.
I mostly remember the pleasant times,
With gratitude, and with thanks.
By Thurman P. Woodfork
Copyright 2007
Listed March 30, 2011
 

About Author... Thurman P. Woodfork (Woody) spent his Air Force career as a radar repairman in places as disparate as Biloxi, Mississippi; Cut Bank, Montana; Tin City, Alaska; Rosas, Spain and Tay Ninh, Vietnam. In Vietnam, he was assigned to Detachment 7 of the 619th Tactical Control Squadron, a Forward Air Command Post located on Trai Trang Sup. Trang Sup was an Army Special Forces camp situated about fifty miles northwest of Saigon in Tay Ninh province, close to the Cambodian border. After Vietnam, Woody remained in the Air Force for nine more years.

Visit Thurman P. Woodfork's site for more information

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