Green fields of France by Eric Bogle
Well, how do you do, Private William McBride,
Do you mind if I sit down here by your graveside?
And rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done.
And I see by your gravestone you were only 19
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916,
Well, I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the pipes lowly?
Did the rifles fir o'er you as they lowered you down?
Did the bugles sound The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1916,
To that loyal heart are you forever 19?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?

The sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance.
The trenches have vanished long under the plow;
No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard that's still No Man's Land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.

And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "The Cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.
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The first chapter of In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (a 1919 collection of poems by John McCrae) gives the text of the poem as follows:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

Salute our veterans--all of them.  Too bad the latest vets were drawn into a war because of a dimwitted President.  All these wonderful young people--dedicated and committed to our country.  Let's also salute those young vets who have come home and committed suicide.  The number now totals higher than our treasured service people who were killed in the war.

Let's salute those courageous men and women that volunteered to serve this great nation, keeping us safe from those who wish to bring harm to America.  Too bad there are a small group of American leftist that treat our military hero's as victims, dishonoring their service and the pride and honor that goes with it.  Stigmatizing our brave men and women of service by making the claims the wars they fight unjust.  We as Americans should be ashamed that the leftists in the Universities that benefit from the peace and security protected by those in our armed forces, deny those same men and women access to campuses to offer students the oportunity to serve.   It is shameful.  

Not to worry, American exceptionalism is making a comeback.
  

Nobody should deny military to enter campus.  They just don't belong in the high schools.  Period.  End of story.  

As for fighting and unjust war--too bad so many gav e up their lives for a lie.  You probably already bought the book by Bush because you sure have bought his administration.  

Quoted from 612

They just don't belong in the high schools.  Period.  End of story.    

Sorry...Not end of story.  Why don't they belong in the high school?  Can firefighters and police recruit in high schools?  I know my school offered the program where you could drive around with a police officer on duty.  Should that be allowed?

Quoted Text

Gates: US open to request from Iraq to stay

(AP) – 1 day ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The United States is open to the idea of keeping troops in Iraq past a deadline to leave next year if Iraq asks for it, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

"We'll stand by," Gates said. "We're ready to have that discussion if and when they want to raise it with us."

Gates urged Iraq's squabbling political groups to reconcile after eight months of deadlock. Any request to extend the U.S. military presence in Iraq would have to come from a functioning Iraqi government. It would amend the current agreement under which U.S. troops must leave by the end of 2011.

"That initiative clearly needs to come from the Iraqis; we are open to discussing it," Gates said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have said for months that they expect Iraqi leaders to eventually ask for an extension of the military agreement with the U.S., but the political impasse has put the idea on hold.

A spike in violence in Iraq over the past two weeks has underscored the continued potency of al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists.

"We have been pretty clear to the Iraqis that what we seek, and hope they will come together on, is an inclusive government that represents all of the major elements of Iraqi society and in a nonsectarian way," Gates said. "It is our hope that that is the direction they are moving in."

http://www.google.com/hostedne.....4afb9400821844cf38ea

How's George W Bush's "Island of Democracy in the Middle East" working out for ya?

Iraq had elections (democracy in action) 8 months ago, and still hasn't formed a government.  That is usually what happens when you shove a democracy down the throats of an unwilling populace.

George Worst Bush broke it... now Obama has to fix it.

It's workin' out just fine!!

The Americans are still waiting for obama to fix what he promised was fixable!!

Waiting.......still waiting.......still waiting.........

Iraq,  like Vietnam will never be more than a drain on the US Military & US Economy until we finally just leave.

I didn't care about Iraq in 2002 and I don't now.

Quoted from Box A Rox

Iraq,  like Vietnam will never be more than a drain on the US Military & US Economy until we finally just leave.

I didn't care about Iraq in 2002 and I don't now.

Go whine to obama!!!

It's his job now and has been for 2 years!

I have to strongly disagree with the folks who believe that the military has no place on high school campuses.
I taught at a Catholic school with a strong ROTC program .. and I can tell you that for the students that were
involved in the ROTC program it helped to mature them, give them good discipline and made a positive
difference in their lives.

Even President John F. Kennedy believed that the best way to keep the peace was to have a strong defense ..
and the high school ROTC programs and ability of the military to recruit on high school campuses goes a long
way to maintaining a strong defense.

Finally, I must strongly reiterate my support for President George W. Bush's decision to intervene in Iraq
and take out Saddam Hussein.   Despite the current stalemate in forming a new government, Iraq IS more
democratic today than it ever was under Saddam Hussein ... and it will eventually develop into a full fledged
democracy.    It took the United States of America time to develop its democratic institutions after it
threw off British rule over us ... we can't expect Iraq to develop its democratic institutions any quicker.

The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle
When I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said: Son,
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When the ship pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off for Gallipoli

It well I remember that terrible day
When our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat, we were all blown to hell
He nearly blew us back home to Australia

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain
Well we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again

Oh those that were living just tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
I never knew there was worse things than dying

Oh no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the Band played Waltzing Matilda
When they carried us down the gangway
Oh nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

Now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glories
I see the old men all tired, stiff and worn
Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, their numbers get fewer
Someday, no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
So who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

Cis-No!  It should not be allowed.  Field trip to the police station, filed trip to fire station, slide down the fireman pole hang out with the dalmation that's it.  And DVR what the he!! are you thinking?  No way should military be allowed to go into high schools.  In fact I am one of the people who was trained to prevent them from doing just that.  First of all the recruiting is targeted at low-income and black /hispanic students.  I will concede the point that in some instances the military give young people a focus and a desire to live a better life.  Nothing wrong with that.  But trying to get high school kids to join rather than encourage them to go on to college and then make that decision is wrong.  I know the military called my sons at home!  What chutzpah.  I intercepted the calls each time and asked them to NEVER call my house again for my children.  If they wanted to join they would get back to them when they were 21.  I am not against the military just recruitment in high schools.

Quoted from 612

Cis-No!  It should not be allowed.  Field trip to the police station, filed trip to fire station, slide down the fireman pole hang out with the dalmation that's it.  And DVR what the he!! are you thinking?  No way should military be allowed to go into high schools.  In fact I am one of the people who was trained to prevent them from doing just that.  First of all the recruiting is targeted at low-income and black /hispanic students.  I will concede the point that in some instances the military give young people a focus and a desire to live a better life.  Nothing wrong with that.  But trying to get high school kids to join rather than encourage them to go on to college and then make that decision is wrong.  I know the military called my sons at home!  What chutzpah.  I intercepted the calls each time and asked them to NEVER call my house again for my children.  If they wanted to join they would get back to them when they were 21.  I am not against the military just recruitment in high schools.

But I suppose sex education is ok in school?  Condom hand outs are ok in school? Ms and Ms Homecoming queen is ok? Taking the Pledge of Allegiance out of school is ok?