Today is December 7th - Pearl Harbor Day. I was lucky enough to be able to go to Pearl Harbor some 25 years ago and I toured the Memorial on the USS Arizona, along with the Harbor. It was a very somber visit and I will always remember it. It seems a little surreal to stand just over the sunken battleship and look out over the water to the break in the hills where the Japanese bombers flew in without warning. I brought my father home a flag that had been flown for a day over the memorial. He enlisted, like many young men of that time, because of what happened at Pearl. He and his three brothers each chose a different branch of the service and they went together to enlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. My Dad was the Marine (Semper Fi, Dad). Because today is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor and because it's nearly Christmas, I think this poem is a poignant reminder and remembrance of who protects us while we live our lives. I don't know the author of this poem and would love to give them credit, so if you know, please share.
A Different Christmas Poem
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 child 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 there 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 moment 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 "It's 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 my 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."
In 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."
Many communities have programs that enable families to "adopt" a soldier during the holidays, so they have a place to hang out and have Christmas dinner. If you live near a military base, inquire to find out about those programs. Otherwise, think about sending a care package through a reputable charity to our servicemen and women overseas for the holidays so that they know that they do matter to us.
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