laserlady
Erwin, NC
age: 52
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I received this email from a friend this morning, and wanted to share with everyone.
With all my heart  I do thank you and remember what you are doing so I can be safe with my family this Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas to all our Servicemen and women. I salute you and thank you.
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a mom ent I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But m y wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'
' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'
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seagate
Raleigh, NC
age: 63
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That was beautiful laser!
God bless all our men and women in our military who wear our uniform!
Believe me, it was not fun to spend a Christmas Day in 110 degree heat in the jungles of Viet-Nam.
The sign at the entrance of the Cherry Point Marine Air Station in Havelock, NC says it all: "Pardon Our Noise, It's The Sound Of Freedom".
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newlady2
Goldsboro, NC
age: 72
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Laser...than you so very very much for the poem..Yes I have read it before-- but still grabs my heart,
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newlady2
Goldsboro, NC
age: 72
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seagate....... I hav eseen quite a few on base here-- after returning from the sandbox.. At pharmacy!!!
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laserlady
Erwin, NC
age: 52
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Our guys and gals need to be remembered daily. I am sure you influence a lot of them Newlady 
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bubbajewel
Tabor City, NC
age: 57
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laser that was beautiful 
 
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seagate
Raleigh, NC
age: 63
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Thank you for posting this laser, and along with laser, thank you newlady and bubba for loving the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! I promise all three of you that we did our best when I was a part of it and I pray that our men and women who serve us now will do their best.
Please just allow me to add this as I sincerely type with a tear in my eye:
We could have easily won that war in Viet-Nam if it had not been fought out of Washington, DC. I saw friends get cut in half by machine gun fire with a head laying here and a leg laying there for political reasons. I had eggs and oranges thrown at me when I got off that plane when I got home by the Jane Fonda crowd. This did not hurt me physically but the emotional scars still remain.
I know that a man is not suppose to cry, but let me tell you, this still hurts to this day but I am still proud that I was a part of the best fighting force this planet has ever known called A UNITED STATES MARINE.
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laserlady
Erwin, NC
age: 52
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Merry Christmas guys and gals. May you wake up this morning to peace of mind, love of self and health.
 Bubbajewel and everyone
My Dad did not meet my oldest sister until three years after she was born because he was fighting in Europe, Phillipines etc. He saw a lot, but one of the strengths I love about him, he never ever let me see any inner turmoil. He fought for the right to protect everyone from harm. As he protects me all my life.
You guys and gals of the military sacrifice so much and all I can give you is a thank you and a prayer.
Seagate, I remember the Nam era very well. I am so sorry is all I can say to the Nam vets. Ya'll still did us proud.
Ah Seagate, patience is gone Tag 
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