A TRIBUTE TO THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN
OF CANADA’S MILITARY
A soldier, a sailor and an airman
Stood before the Pearly Gates
Their faces were scarred and old
They stood before the man of fate
To be admitted to the fold
Saint Peter said, “what have you done,
To gain admittance here?”
Said the airman, “I flew on many sad missions
And cried as my best friend’s plane hit the ground.”
Said the sailor, “I sailed a wide vast ocean,
And fought amid the fire and rain.
I watched as my buddy died
With a victory smile upon his face .”
Spoke up the soldier, with sadness in his voice
“I fought in the trenches sir, with my buddies young and old,
I saw them take their last breath,
knowing their story would be told.”
The Pearly Gates swung open
Saint Peter rang the bell
“Come in,” he said to one and all, as a chorus of angels sang,
“For you’ve spent your time in hell.”
Then standing there with a smile upon her face,
Was an old but beautiful woman,
Waiting to be admitted to the fold.
“What have you done,” Saint Peter said,
“To gain admittance here?”
“Why I was a nurse and helper, sir, to all the brave above .
I wiped their tears, and covered their wounds,
I wept as I held the hand of many a mother’s dying son
As he pleaded, ‘please don’t let go of my hand.’”
The Pearly gates swung open
Saint Peter rang the bell as all heaven began to rejoice
“Come in,” he said to the one with a heart so scarred,
“For you’ve spent your time in hell .”
AND WAR IS HELL
Copyright: Terrence Morrissey
READ ALSO: Brush with Kennedy changed Langley man’s life
Morrissey is a Langley author of several books, including The Final Dive, his account of his encounter with Robert Kennedy, brother of the late U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
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