A MARINE BIRTHDAY
Del "Abe" Jones
November 10 Eight years after they were formedAt the end of the Revolutionary War
All the Navy’s ships were sold
Marines and Sailors were no more. Then, in Seventeen ninety-eight
The Marines once more came to be
And they fought Barbary pirates
Along the “Shores of Tripoli”. During the War of Eighteen Twelve
They defended Washington
Along with many other Operations
Before that War was done. They served in the Mexican War
And among Battles that they fought
One to the “Halls of Montezuma”
Alongside General Winfield Scott. “Bull Run” during the Civil War
And blockades at Cape Hatteras
At New Orleans and Charleston
And Fort Fisher toward the last. The Spanish-American War
The Boxer Rebellion in China
Fights in Cuba, Mexico, Haiti
In Nicaragua and Panama. On the Battlefields of France
The “Devil Dogs” earned their name
And many thousands killed or wounded
In World War One’s deadly game. And most of us know their stories
About the Heroes of WWII
There’s some seem impossible
But we all know they’re true. During the War in Korea
Twenty-five thousand gave their all
Fighting many gallant battles
Answering our Country’s call. “The Cold War” found them everywhere
In countries all around the Earth
Trying hard to keep the Peace
And showing all their worth. In Sixty-Five they landed in Da Nang
With eighty-five thousand “in country”
They served with Pride and Honor
Although our Country would not see. On their Two Hundred Thirtieth Birthday
We have them serving in Iraq
As well as so many other places
To try to hold the Terrorists back. Maybe someday there will be Peace
And Good Will on Earth and more
But until then lets all give Thanks
We have the United States Marine Corps. Del “Abe” Jones
11-07-2005
Semper Fidelis
In Seventeen seventy-five
Two Battalions were formed
And the Marine Corps came alive. The Continental Congress
Had passed a resolution
For a landing force for the fleet
A new Navy Institution. Since that day so long ago
Through all conflicts of our Nation
They’ve fueled stories and folklore
And stirred the imagination. They’re usually the first to go
The “spearhead” of the fight
Some who heard they were coming
Have turned tail and took flight. They’ve offered up, gave their All
And that continues to this day
Standing tall, marching forth
To show others, Freedom’s way. Del “Abe” Jones
THE MARINE CORPS WAR MEMORIAL
”Men were dying by the score.”
An eyewitness to a famous Battle
Immortalized forever more. Quartermaster on a LST
“Eyewitness to a sad, horrible day.”
“A slaughter right there on the Beach”
Is what, this Veteran had to say. Coast Guardsman Robert Resnick
Was more than just a witness there
He furnished the Stars and Stripes
In that picture all generations share. A symbol for the Marine Corps
Cast in bronze for all to see
The Flag raised on that mountain top
Is part of our Nation’s History. One of the bloodiest Battles of the War
Fought for thirty-six days and nights
More than twenty two thousand Japanese
In one of the Marines fiercest fights. The first part of Japan we invaded
And as Resnick’s ship sat on the beach
Marine Gagnon asked him for a Flag
And a long pipe to raise it’s reach. They lost their sight of the Marine
As he headed to that Mountain top
Amidst the gun’s bullets flying
That never, ever seemed to stop. As they began to leave the Beach
A tremendous cheer went all around
And, “Every ship tooted it’s horn.”
As they raised the Flag that he had found. For years another was credited
Until the year, Two thousand-one
When at a Fifth Marine Convention
The Marines learned he really was the one. A big, old Marine bellowed out,
“Do you really mean to tell me,
That you never realized that you
Won that Battle, single-handedly?” The President of the Fifth Marines
Made him an honorary member
And as they did some tears were shed
As they all began to remember
About that day sixty years ago
Up there on Mount Surabachi
When the Stars and Stripes were raised high
Was still a vivid, cherished, memory. Del “Abe” Jones © 2005
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Last updated on November 11, 2005 |