Unless You’ve Been A Soldier

Decide To Vote / Vote To Decide.
For the many who fought and died, to give me freedom of choice
I want a way to honour them, to thank them for my voice.
I know that I’m only one voice, a noise coming from my throat
But if we join together, we can shout out with our vote.
( Amal Reetpet )

Unless You’ve Been A Soldier.
Unless you’ve been a soldier
You just won’t understand.
The things that we have seen and done
In the service of our land.
We have trained to live in combat
To cope with awful sights
That shouldn’t be seen by anyone
And keep you awake at nights.
We don’t discuss the wounds we have
To the body or the mind.
We just put our hurts behind us
And turn our memories to blind.
We are proud we served our country
And remember those we lost.
For the freedom that you have today
They paid the awful cost.
( Clive Sanders )

May No Soldier.
May no soldier go unloved.
May no soldier walk alone.
May no soldier be forgotten.
May no soldier be left behind when they return home.
( Rose Winfold )

Wherever You Are.
Wherever you are, my love will keep you safe,
My heart will build a bridge of light across both time and space.
Wherever you are, our hearts still beat as one,
I hold you in my dreams each night until your task is done.
Light up the darkness, my wondrous star,
Our hopes and dreams, my heart and yours, forever shining far.
Light up the darkness, my prince of peace,
May the stars shine all around you may your courage never cease.
Wherever I am, I will love you day by day,
I will keep you safe, cling on to faith, along the dark, dark way.
Wherever I am, I will hold on through the night,
I will pray each day a safe return, will look now to the light.
Light up the darkness, my wondrous star,
Our hopes and dreams, my heart and yours, forever shining far.
Light up the darkness, my prince of peace,
May the stars shine all around you, may your courage never cease.
( Words taken from letters that wives and girlfriends wrote to their husbands and boyfriends serving in Afghanistan )

They Did Not Die In Vain.
Each soul that fell and wasted in that hostile place,
Where terror met each new dawn with a shaking hand,
Had once been loved and cherished in their sweet, brief lives,
Had once been strong and carefree with a future planned.
The dreadful ache that tore their mother’s heart apart,
When death confirmed that they would not come home again.
The heavy price their generation had to pay.
For our precious freedom, they did not die in vain.
( Rose Winfold )

For Gladys.
The jungle is dark my darling
And danger is ever near
But through it I hear you calling
‘Come back safe my dear’.
I hear those words you said to me
It seems so long ago
Before I sailed across the sea
Before I met the foe.
Now as we creeping through
The jungle’s dark and gloom
I whisper, ‘I’ll be back with you
My darling, one day soon’.
( Dennis Leedham )

Every Day Is One Day More.
How hard it was to say goodbye,
I could not help myself but cry.
As I watched him walk away,
How I wanted him to stay.
Come on, you must be strong,
Six months is not so long.
Everyday is one day more,
Closer to the end of tour.
( Written by a soldier’s wife )

The Kids Are Upset.
The kids are upset but I’m staying strong.
I try not to cry but I’m sad that you’re gone.
I get into bed that evening, it’s so empty.
It’s then that I realise for the next six months it’s just me.
I’ve got friends and family of course I can talk to,
But what I really want is to be right there beside you.
( Written by a soldier’s wife )

A Land Of Love.
The battle is over after living in fear
Hundreds of thousands of brave souls have died
For the freedom we hold dear.
We must look to the future of the country we love
And make a land fit for heroes, a land of love.
( Rose Winfold )

That Lovely Weekend.
My darling, here’s my letter I’m writing through my tears
A few sweet words to thank you for lovely souvenirs
Memories you gave me still echo in my heart
I’ll dream if then while we’re apart
I haven’t said thanks for that lovely weekend
Those two days of heaven you helped me spend
The thrill of your kiss as you stepped off the train
The smile in your eyes like the sun after rain
To mark the occasion we went out to dine
Remember the laughter, the music, the wine
That drive in the taxi when midnight had flown
Then breakfast next morning, just we two alone
You had to go, the time was too short
We both had so much to say
Your kit to be packed, the train to be caught
Sorry I cried but I just felt that way
And now you have gone, dear, this letter I pen
My heart travels with you till we meet again
Keep smiling, my darling, and someday we’ll spend
A lifetime as sweet as that lovely weekend.
( Moira Heath )

Lines Of Duty.
It’s God forsaken, nothing less
This jungle land, this wilderness
This land that nature’s claimed her own
This land so very far from home.
These mighty hills and valleys below
These rivers roaring as they flow
Towards the far and distant sea
Like lost souls in eternity.
And everywhere this jungle growth
By nature’s hand completely loath
To yield its secrets unto man
Secrets of a forgotten land.
Bamboo clumps, a stifling mesh
That rips the clothes and tears the flesh
That makes man curse and long to be
Away from all its treachery.
Malaria, illness, skin disease
Insect bites that never cease
Scorpions, snakes and leeches clinging
Monsoon bugs incessant ringing.
Oh for the day when the hostile men
Are driven from this land, and then
We can leave this Burma and
Return to our own beloved land.
( Dennis Leedham )