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Expressions / Bulletins

From Leann Spranza

The below letter was handed to a Vietnam vet that attended our town's memorial service held at our veteran's park on memorial day.
.............................................................................
To The Viet Nam Veteran

To those who returned home with no one to greet them
 
To those who have been told that PTSD will go away in time
 
To those who have never been told that you're officially welcomed home
 
To those who have returned physically, but are still haunted by nightmares of war
 
To those who still react to a backfire and break a sweat at the sound of a chopper
 
To those who have traveled endlessly never letting roots take hold or settled down
 
To those who have a familiar song that takes you back to a place you'd rather forget
 
To those who can count the friends they have on one hand for fear of losing another
 
To those who suffer from Agent Orange exposure and are still fighting the last battle
 
To those who fought battles in the steamy jungles of Viet Nam and also here at home
 
To those who have more friends on the Viet Nam Memorial Wall than they do in this life
 
 Thank You!!  and Welcome Home!!  

 


 

Subject: Pictures of Presentation of Green Bay Citations to the CO of C 1-12 and the 1SG of C 1-12 at Ft. Hood - June 6, 2013

 
          
On June 6, 2013, I had the honor and privilege to present 5 awards and citations from the US Senate, both legislative bodies from Wisconsin, the City of Green Bay and the Oneida Nation that C Company, 1st BN, 12th Cavalry received at the reunion in Green Bay to the present company commander of C Company, 1st/12th Cavalry, Captain Mitchell and his first sergeant, 1SG Tatro at Ft. Hood, Texas. The commander of the 1st/12th, LTC Art Sellers and his Command Sergeant Major, Wayne Phillips were in attendance also. There were also about 50 Charlie Company active duty soldiers in attendance and several former members of C Company from the Vietnam War were in attendance also.

The plaques will be on display at the C Company orderly room from this date forward. I would note that both Captain Mitchell and 1SG Tatro are former paratroopers, as are LTC Sellers and CSM Phillips.

I’ve tried to send this to as many of our C Company brothers as I had emails addresses for. You might want to share them with the rest of the guys. I’m also asking Ron and Phil to post this on the C Company website for all to see.

Doug Warden

C Company, 1st BN, 12th Cavalry, Vietnam

 


 

                                                     Poems By Jay Snyder

 

COMPARE
 
Discotheques, Protests, Dinner with spoons and forks, Drives in cars with tops
Sports, Theatre, Life with a family, Nights with a girl, Life We miss, Paved streets
Homes with windows, Two stories high, Fields without rice, Seasons not rain
A bed, With a sheet, With a pillow, Without bugs, Without rats, Water
From a tap, From a glass, Without pills, Campouts, With friends With a trailer
Without Cong, Music, With a choice of stations, Food, With a choice of brands
Women, Without a pricetag, Walks after dark, Without a crowd, Without a rifle
A soft night, With untroubled sleep, Books, Not manuals, Dials, Not field phones
Sidewalks, Not trails, Surprises, Not ambushes, Rest, Not on guard, Peace
Not a sword, Life we miss, Homes we love, Life we protect
Homes we defend, With our lives
 
WHERE
 
Where do we go when we die
Do we end
Do we reach cross the wall
When we die, do we end
Our body is dust
But our soul and our mind
Are the great parts of man;
Do they crumble and fall?
The body is here
But the soul
Is it there?
 
WAR
 
The sounds of war;
Loud and demanding
The beat of War
Blood and Thunder
The speed of War;
Slow and grinding
The aftermath?
Hate and rebuilding
The final result
Not peace but the sword!
 
REFLECTIONS
 
What hath God wrought?
Man
What hath man wrought?
War
To show appreciation
Or to just pass time?
Maybe destruction?
Why?
I look at death
And die some
I see destruction
And ask
Around me is loss
Of life
Of property
Of Love
Of self
Now I'm lost
And approach my end
 
DAY'S END
 
THE SUN SINKS SLOWLY IN THE WEST
THE DAY IS DONE; THE WORLD'S AT REST
NIGHT STEALS SLOWLY OER' THE LAND
OUR WORLD NOW SLEEPS IN GOD'S STRONG HAND
THE DARK IS SOFT THE NIGHT IS HEALING
THIS DARK WILL HIDE THIS DAY'S REVEALING
THE NIGHT REGAINS THE UPPER HAND
AND DAY RETREATS BEYOND THE STRAND
 
PARADOX
 
We fear to live, yet fear to die
Our life has lost its meaning
Our growth descends, that once was high
Like a stone down hill careening.
A speeding stone does no moss gather
And we are like that stone.
Our life with all its speeding patter
Runs on its course alone.
We can't take time to be a friend
Though there is no real cost
A bit of moss is like that friend
We could have had but lost.
We never see the brighter side,
We only find the dark.
Our life becomes a bitter ride
On death's dark, speeding barque.
We can't observe the pleasured beam,
We only see the pain.
We fail to see the lifelong dream,
The rainbow in the rain.
 
I have more, but they tend to be a bit darker, if that is possible, let me know if you want to read more.
Of course I have lots of love poems, which I wrote after I met Jeanne. Those are much more up lifting.