8/7/2019 MMW Their Ultimate Gift
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Their Ultimate GiftMummy, who is that old man that sits over in
that chair
He looks like he is elsewhere even though he is just there
It looks like he is missing someone, a mate no longer here
Or remembering times from long ago as he sheds a single tear
Son, that man he is a hero and with many others he answered the
call
With courage they went to unknown lands and gave it their very
all
Some gave the ultimate gift and sacrificed their own life so
dear
And with honour they served their country so we could now be
here
I hope you grow to respect the legacy that these fine men have
left behind
As they leapt from muddy trenches to storm their enemys front
line
Fighting for what they believed in and spilling their blood,
sweat and tears
Not knowing what each day would bring or if they would face
their fears
Your Grandfather fought in Vietnam when your Father was just a
boy
Just like the many men before him, when called they would
deploy
He died soon after coming home but we were told he was never the
same
But my son you should be very proud that you carry on his
name
Bec Lawson Written 25 April 2007
I received the above Poem on Facebook from a now friend who
wrote it three years ago on AnzacDay: the occasion which lead her
to publish her poem was the death of one of Australias own in
Afghanistan.
As one who went through the war in Vietnam as a soldier based in
Australia I hope that we as a
country can get together and support our troops, both as
Christians, and at a more basic level, asfellow members of our
nation. When one soldier dies it is a loss to us all, it is a
tragedy to his family
and mates. This multiplies throughout the country for each
soldier who dies.
But it becomes an even greater tragedy if, we as a nation,
decide that enough is too much. I willsadly acknowledge my baggage
as one of the survivors of Vietnam who saw too closely thespectacle
of good Australians pelting fellow Australians who had just
returned from serving their
country in a war which just became socially unacceptable, I felt
for my fellow servicemen who were
reviled by people who very well could have been neighbors.
We who hold to Christ as our standard have been told to love our
neighbors and there is no getting
around that. We are also told to pray for our enemies, and for
those who abuse you. These are
major planks to any constitution of the New Testament; the
question is how far do we in this 21 ST
Century model these planks in our time and culture?
What I would like to suggest is a number of ways that we might
do this, not necessarily
concurrently:
First we should be praying for the speedy resolution of the war
and for the safety of our servicemen,
Second we should be praying for the welfare of the members
families, and where appropriate creating a
loving supportive environment for them.
Third when a young man dies it is a major event in the lives of
family and friends. Depending on our
situation and relationships, love and support them whilst still
permitting them to grieve in a way that isappropriate to them.
Fourth when a serviceman returns from war, we must recognize
that he has been doing his job and accept
him back into society without any sort of recriminations. Many
returning veterans from Vietnam, were so
repulsed by the responses they got to news stories that they
literally went bush, and stayed there. We did
