A Birthday Ode

The young man was nervous and maybe afraid
He wasn’t quite sure what he’d been thinking that day
He’d gone to Tunn Tavern to grab a quick brew
And walked out after signing on as one of the Few
It was November Seventeen Hundred and Seventy-Five
And a Corps had just come to life
He’d pledged his life to something unseen
He was the first enlistee: the first Marine

The young man was hot. Sweat dripped from his brow
He wondered what his friends were doing just now
He was on a long march led by his lieutenant
But for some reason his heart wasn’t in it
He’d left home months before
And crossed the ocean to fight in this war
The President said that it needed to be done
So he’d packed up his gear and picked up his gun
The temperature rose and his blood began to boil
This young man for a fight he did spoil
After the battle was over and he’d done his part
He was awarded a coveted Purple Heart
On the shores of Tripoli they’d been true to their word
And Lt O’Bannon was given a fine sword

The young man sat weeping for his friends who had died
The fighting was fierce, but they’d turned the tide
Most of the men he’d known for many years
Had fallen and that was the reason for his tears
He vowed to remember them. He swore to recall
The battle that took place in Montezuma’s hall
So to his trousers he added a stripe of red
To remind him of the blood that was shed

The young man stood tall although he was weary
The news was bad and the weather was dreary
Today they would assault through Belleau Wood
And drive out the enemy as best as they could
He fixed his bayonet and checked his gas mask
Would he be up to this difficult task?
From tree to tree and trench to trench the battle raged
It was a fierce fight in the first war of the machine gun age
He fought with courage and they carried the day
The Huns who survived would report back and say
That they’d fought like Devil Dogs they were so tough
And the Germans who’d held the woods had had enough

The young man felt fear as his boat neared the shore
This was a new way to fight a war
And yet some things were very much the same
He carried the history of the his Corps to help keep him sane
The Higgins boat hit the beach and the gate crashed down
All of his preparation had not readied him for the sounds
He stormed the beach covered in black sand
It was tough to run and suicide to stand
He fought to the top of the mountain and helped raise the colors
It was a tremendous way to inspire the others
He never made it back from that hill
On Iwo Jima you can visit him still
His brothers had fought on Guadalcanal and the atoll of Kwajalein
On Tarawa and other places that he’d never seen

The young man was awed by the leader he’d just met
He was from Texas. This winter was his coldest yet
He’d landed at Inchon and marched inland
Until the enemy had shown their true hand
“We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem.” Chesty Puller had said
And in a fighting withdrawal his troops he then led
The 1st Division fought its way home through the snow
And destroyed 7 enemy divisions as they did so

The young man was ready, eager in fact
He wanted some action. He was ready to act
He thought he’d be drafted so he had volunteered
And signed up for the job that everyone feared
He was a Marine with a rifle and on that great day
He fought through the streets in the city of Hue
Through the streets one block at a time
The Marines advanced over every phase line

The young man was restless and could find no respite
He’d been here six months with no end in sight
The build up continued with troops all around
They struggled to dig holes in the sandy ground
Finally the word came to move in
The Shield had become Storm and it was time to win
His friends had scoffed when he joined the Corps
But he knew what he was doing and what it was for

The young man was envious of those in the past
Until one day, his turn to fight came at last
He went to the desert from where all life came
And he carried with him the proudest of names
It wasn’t his surname he sought to uphold
But the legacy of the Corps from those days of old

The young woman stayed home and cried every night
She waited until the children were asleep out of sight
She worried for her Marine and the things he must do
But she was a patriot and a proud woman, too
She’d married her love and knew it for sure
He was married to her and in love with the Corps

For Two Hundred and Thirty One years the Corps has been true
Dedicated to the principles of the Red, White, and Blue
In every clime and in any place
The Marines have always shown their face
America is and always shall be
Blessed to be protected by the U-S-M-C

Semper Fidelis