Thanks for your terrific news letters. The poem I?m sharing was written 3 days before I was critically wounded by a VC sniper near Quang Tin Vietnam in 1967. By the grace of God, I survived and after many months of recovery I was medically discharged from the Corps. I?m sharing my writing to honor those heroes I left behind so many years ago and to honor all the brave men and women who are now serving this great nation that we proudly call America.
Semper Fi.
All In Vain
by Pfc. Ivan G. Hiestand
It?s quiet tonight on this lonely hill,
the guns are hushed and the men lie still.
There lingers a silence beyond all compare,
The smoke from the battle looms in the air.
Today they fought, these daring young few,
Today they died for me and for you.
They were your sons, Americans all,
From all races and creeds, they answered the call.
And what may I ask, did you do today?
You rioted and protested to get your way!
You burned your draft cards to prove us wrong,
You shouted protests to a doubting throng.
You murdered to silence an innocent voice,
Yet here men died, for they had no choice.
For these heroes it?s over, there is no more pain.
Let us all pray to God that it wasn?t in vain.
Pfc. Ivan G. Hiestand
Charlie Company
1st Battalion, Third Marines
Vietnam, September 13, 1967