They Were Only Men

By Patrick James Smith

© 2018 The Southside Messenger

The nations have heard…and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together…

Jeremiah 46: 12

Why are thy valiant men swept away?

Jeremiah 46:, 15

Throughout this nation free and fair,

Once tolled a solemn bell-

Across this peaceful, pleasant land,

A troubled shadow fell

A fierce and feral people

Were gathered off the shore-

Against a kind and gentle folk,

They planned to wage a war

They brought ships and guns and bombs,

Grenades, and tanks and planes-

They brought their plans for prison camps,

Their whips, and yokes and chains

To fondly hope and wish for peace

Would only bring despair-

For, in their black and hollow hearts,

There was no mercy there

They streamed into the valleys

And swarmed on every hill-

They savage beat the drums of war

With harsh and brutal will

And, howling with a hunger fierce,

They panted for the day

Their dripping jaws would rip apart

A weak and helpless prey

From deep within their twisted souls

A boiling hate would churn-

They would tear child from mother’s arms,

The school and church would burn

But who would save our people now,

So blessed beyond compare,

With lovely women pure and kind

And children sweet and fair?

And who would stand to face the foe,

Lest they should pass our way?

That duty always falls to men

Whose feet are made of clay

Men reeked of sweat and cigar smoke,

And some would slam the door-

Some tracked their muddy boot prints

Across the kitchen floor

And some of them were artless, yes,

And some were crude, but then,

They all were made of flesh and blood

And they were only men

But answering the call to arms,

Men left their shops and fields-

They put away their tools and plows

To pick up swords and shields

They came from places near and far

And places high and low,

Where mountains rise in majesty

And mighty rivers flow

Some left their marbled mansions

To fight in foreign lands-

Some walked barefoot from hobo camps,

With Bibles in their hands

Though all of them were men of peace,

Became they men of war

And they went forth to battle,

Like our fathers did before

But holding wives and children

In one last sweet embrace,

They said goodbye, then pulled away

From every tearstained face

Yet thus has ever been the way,

Whenever Freedom calls,

That on the broad and strongest backs,

A sacred duty falls

Men shouldered packs and rifles

And climbed on trucks and trains-

They gathered on the docks and piers

And boarded ships and planes

For sake of home and country,

In weather foul or fair,

They went to face the legion foe,

By land, by sea and air

They sailed on wild and surging seas

All through the raging night-

Through lightning flash and thundercloud,

They soared on wings of might

And in the holds of ships and planes,

In all that roar and din,

Some grieved for loved ones that they knew

They’d never see again

Then to the burning battlefield

They went to face the foe-

Into that hot and hateful war,

They knew that they would go

Into the range of missile,

Of bullet, bomb and gun,

Went every father’s pride and joy

And every mother’s son

And there, in raw and garish light

Of rocket’s reddest glare,

They thought of women pure and kind

And children sweet and fair

While overhead the rocket shrieked,

When burst the mortar shell,

They ached for homes so far away,

And tears from faces fell

In that Valley of the Shadow,

With all their souls laid bare,

They drank from Sorrow’s bitter cup

And tasted black Despair

In tents and foxholes knees would bend

And helmet heads would bow,

But prayers are drowned in rage of war

And who would hear them now?

Then went beyond the mountains,

Across the sea and sand,

Unto the heavens high above,

A cry throughout the land

While trains and trolleys came and went,

While children laughed and played,

Back home, the people bowed their heads

And then the people prayed:

“O Most High and Holy God,

Our Lord in whom we trust,

Pray give courage to these men

That Thou hast raised from dust

And let Thy glory shine through them,

That all the world may see

Thy saving grace from ages past

And ages yet to be”

Then spirits of our fathers,

Whom they would not forsake,

Came to stand beside them there,

Lest all their hearts should break

From the plains of Saratoga,

And days of Bunker Hill,

They came from bitter Valley Forge

To steel them with their will

They came on clouds of glory,

From hallowed days of yore-

They came to fight beside them,

Like our fathers did before

How strong for precious Liberty

The human heart should beat!

How strange that in the darkest hour,

Would Freedom ring so sweet

The homeland of our fathers,

They vowed they would defend-

Men could burn and men could break,

But these would never bend!

For, planted in the heart and soul,

So deep in blood and bone,

Long ago in Liberty

Were seeds of freedom sown

Then stood up every pilot,

Every soldier and marine,

And every sailor on the sea

Whose soul and hands were clean

They pledged to God, “If be Thy will

That men should all live free,

Then take us in Thy holy cause

And we will fight for Thee!”

They knew that they would burn and bleed

And they would die that day,

But with their lives they swore the foe

Would never pass our way

Now every woman in the land

His daughter, wife, or mother-

United in a holy cause,

Now every man his brother

Then they marched against the foe-

Those mighty cannon spoke!

They smote the hills with thunder,

The sky with fists of smoke

Against the massive ramparts

Of stalwart foes entrenched,

Into the screaming mouth of hell

They charged and never flinched

They fought the foe in forest glades,

On snowy mountains high-

They fought them on the ocean deep

And drove them from the sky

They fought in steaming jungles,

On islands dearly bought-

They fell on sandy beaches,

In storms of steel and shot

They fell in summer’s flowered fields

And streamed from skies of blue-

They died screaming, burned alive,

With bayonets run through

They crawled upon their bellies

And climbed up cliffs and banks-

They aimed their rifles by the light

Of burning ships and tanks

Death spotted them through sniper scopes

And smiled from windowsills-

Death sought them on the mountaintops

And found them on the hills

And spattered with their brother’s blood,

With bits of bone and brain,

They fought against the hate of hell

Through horror, fear and pain

Then blown apart by hundreds

   And blinded by the score,

Each and every desperate hour,

They died by thousands more

Through bursting bombs and cratered fields,

Through walls of boiling flame,

Holding Freedom’s banner high,

The sons of valor came!

They fought through mines and razor wire

To strike the hammer blow-

With all their strength, and all their might,

They raged against the foe

They fought with manly courage

And died as heroes do,

Until atop the highest mount,

Our gallant banner flew

O gladly did the valiant live-

How bravely did they die!

But, sprawled upon the battlefield,

Now still and pale they lie

For them the war is over

And, now that peace is won,

Let there be eternal rest

For he whose labor’s done

Let wind blow soft, let sun shine bright,

Through haze and clearing sky,

Above the smoking battlefield

Where fallen heroes lie

Reach forth Thine arm, O Blessed Lord,

To those in battle slain!

And place Thy hand on every chest

Where spread a crimson stain

Then let a tear from heaven fall

And douse the flames of war-

Then let them burn, and let them bleed

And let them die no more

Now gone his breath, and gone his life,

He stares with sightless eye-

Never more to hold his wife,

Or hear her gentle sigh

Not again to see the knowing

Smile upon her face,

Nor feel her warm and tender touch,

But graveyard’s cold embrace

No rooster’s vibrant morning crow

Will greet his newborn day-

He’ll feel no sun upon his back,

Or smell the new-mown hay

There’ll be no roofs for him to patch,

Or bikes to fix today-

There’ll be no wounded knees to kiss,

Or tears to wipe away

No laughing child on piggyback,

Or games of hide and seek-

No little arms around his neck,

Or kiss upon his cheek

No child to cradle in his arms

And carry off to bed-

No bedtime stories will he read,

Or bless his family’s bread

There’ll be no dear and lovely bride

For him to give away-

There’ll be no tear of quiet pride

On graduation day

And never will he hear again

His children shriek with glee,

When they see all their presents piled

Around the Christmas tree

Some loving fathers and their sons,

Never did come home-

Some of them were lost at sea,

Beneath the waves and foam

Young men so glad to be alive

Were gone in just a flash-

Some were blown to rags and bits,

And some were burned to ash

Now fading faces bravely smile

From dusty picture frames

Of those who died so long ago

In hell’s most savage flames

Yet sometimes torn and tattered shreds,

Some bloody bits of tan,

Or memories are all that’s left

Of what was once a man

But reaching to the heavens now,

Above the sea of graves,

Across this sweet and pleasant land,

Our flag still grandly waves

For God and country and our flag,

The red, the white and blue,

No heart could beat more faithfully-

No soul could be more true

For what more could the gallant give

But his last ragged breath?

And how else could the valiant be

But faithful to the death?

They gave up lives they’d never live

And loved ones they would miss-

It has been said no man could have

A greater love than this

Then gather from the battlefield,

O Lord, with tender care,

All of those who died in war

And mount the golden stair

Pray lift their souls to heaven,

There lay them gently down,

Then raise them into glory

And give them each a crown

For, once again, shall golden peace

Spread wide her softest wings

And, once again, all men will know

The joy Thy freedom brings

For sake of blessed freedom,

Men ached and bitter cried-

For love of precious liberty,

They lived and fought, and died

Then show them, Lord, their sacrifice

Was worth that fear and pain-

O show them that the lives they gave

Were given not in vain!

Then let them see their children play

And hear them laugh and sing-

O let them see the morning shine

And hear the church bells ring!

And show them all from high above,

Our grand old flag still stands

And let them see their loved ones rest,

Now safe in holy hands

God bless the brave who died in war

With peace forever more,

For all of them were heroes

Like their fathers were before

For sake of women pure and kind

And children sweet and fair,

They went where no one else would go

When no one else would dare

They fought in snow and burning sand,

They died in rain and mud-

On rocks and dirt so far from home,

They poured their reddest blood

And Father, if it be thy will

That men should all live free,

Then in thy just and holy cause,

They truly died for thee!

For through them did Thy glory shine,

That all the world may see

Thy saving grace from ages past

And ages yet to be

They gave up all they’d ever have

To answer Freedom’s call-

They were the truest, and the best,

And bravest of us all

For freedom’s wrought in sorrow

And peace is bought in pain,

With blood that runs, with sweat that drips

And tears that fall like rain

Then Father, heal their shattered souls-

Look not upon their sin!

For Thou hast raised them from the dust

And they were only men

*****

“They Were Only Men” by Patrick Smith is being published as a 3×5 inch pocket-sized, illustrated keepsake booklet. This publication is to honor America’s heroes, and will include a presentation page (sample at right). There will be no specific charge for the booklet, but we are accepting donations to defray expenses (the cost of publication and shipping.) If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, send your name. address and phone number along with your donation to The Southside Messenger, PO Box 849, Keysville, VA 23947 ATTN: BOOKLET.  Make donation Checks payable to The Southside Messenger. **Donations are not tax-deductible.