Beloved Darrell, in peace you will rest, til your Creator awakens your soul
To light and life when man's soul will be blest, a better day promised to unfold.
AN EPITAPH
He died not knowing what it was to live, died, while the first sweet consciousness of manhood sprung forth,
To maiden thoughts and dreams of a future. In fleeting sorrow, there is Life with God - a kingdom of a sweeter air.
"They gave all of their tomorrows for our today"
A HOPE
"And, oh! there lives within my heart a hope, long nursed by me
And should its cheering ray depart how dark my soul would be
That as in Adam all have died - in Christ shall all men live
And ever round His throne abide, eternal praise to give
That even the wicked shall at last, be fitted for the skies
And when their dreadful doom is past, to life and light arise
I ask not how remote the day, nor what the sinners' woe
Before their dross is purged away, enough for me to know
That when the cup of wrath is drained, the metal purified
They'll cling to what they once disdained, and live by Him that died"
Anne Bronte 1820-1849
THE THINGS THAT MAKE A SOLDIER GREAT
"The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die
To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed
The grass plot where his siblings play, the roses on the wall
'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.
'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home
Endanger but that humble street whereon the children run
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be - the humble spot called home
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been
He sees his family smile at him, he hears the bugle call
And only death can stop him now - he's fighting for them all."
Edgar Guest
SACRIFICE
"The young men die in battle, the old men sleep in bed
The tortured earth of Vietnam, is furrowed deep with red
The old men sat conferring, with smile and scheme and lie
The old men made the blunders, today the young men die."
Eleanor D. Breed
SOMETIME WE'LL UNDERSTAND
"Not now, but in the coming years, it may be in the Better Land
We'll read the meaning of our tears, and there we'll understand
We'll catch the broken threads again, and finish what we here began
Heav'n will the mysteries explain, and then we'll understand
We'll know why clouds instead of sun were over many a cherished plan
Why song has ceased, when scarce begun, 'tis there we'll understand
God knows the way, He holds the key, He guides us with unerring hand
Sometime with tearless eyes we'll see, yes there, we'll understand
Then trust in God through all your days, fear not, for He holds your hand
Though dark the way, still sing and praise, sometime, we'll understand."
Maxwell N. Cornelius
PRAYER FOR BROTHERHOOD
"Christ, grant us this gift, to look with Thine eyes of pity and love
On all men's need - to feel from within, with Thee, the bit of pain, of hunger, of wrong
To live wholly beyond ourselves, in deep and active desire of help for the needy and weak
Christ, conquer the selfish greed in our hearts, and grant us power to act
To struggle, to build, for the coming of Thy full Kingdom
Where no man is wronged, greed and violence vanish away
And in all God's world true brotherhood reigns.
John S. Hoyland 1887
"The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst"
NONVIOLENCE - THE GREATEST FORCE:
http://www.forusa.org/Interfaith/christianity.html
These are links to two websites where you will find
the battle of LZ Albany in which Darrell was killed
and the
7th Cavalry Association
,
the Regiment he was in.
Please visit The Virtual Wall's memorial to
all Ia Drang valley casualties.
