[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        LET ME LIE WITH SOLDIERS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 6, 1997

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today, I wanted to submit the 
following poem as it was read by its author at the annual POW/MIA 
Candlelight Ceremony March 2, 1997, held at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in 
Marietta, GA. The poem is entitled ``Let Me Lie With Soldiers,'' by Lt. 
Col. Clyde M. Reedy, U.S. Army (retired), Vietnam 1963 and 1972.

                        Let Me Lie With Soldiers

     Let me lie with soldiers when God my spirit calls. Let me 
           walk with warriors down heaven's hallowed halls.
     Please bury me with soldiers, and let my spirit soar with 
           kindred souls with whom I shared the brotherhood of 
           war.
     Yes, lay me down with soldiers in consecrated ground, made 
           holy by their sacrifice, and bravery without bound.
     It matters not the color of the uniform they wore, nor who 
           sounded loud the trumpet that summoned them to war.
     It matters not their era, nor weapons which they bore, nor 
           banner which they followed into that hell called 
           ``war.''
     Abdulor Ivan, Hoang or Heinz, their names??? . . . I do not 
           care. The tie that binds us all as one: the horrors 
           that we shared.
     The color their skin counts not, be it yellow, black or 
           brown. For all of us are brothers up in God's holy 
           ground.
     The cause for which they struggled, that also matters naught. 
           For when we're all in heaven none will ask for whom we 
           fought.
     And though our bodies crumble once are souls have gone on 
           high, let memory of our sacrifices never never die.
     Yes, let me stand with soldiers, hand-in-hand on heaven's 
           shore, and gaze together on our homes Forever free of 
           war.

  This poem captures both the sadness and pride of America's fighting 
men, as well as the hope of every soldier: that the war they fight will 
be the last. It is an eloquent testimony to America's MIA's and POW's, 
who we must never forget.

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