He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd;
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours...
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had … "
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day...
This story shall the good man teach his son;
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us…
Excellent, Shay.
ReplyDeleteAlong the way, I was blessed to meet Gen. Jack Singlaub (Army-Ret.) He was a Jedburgh Knight and had some extremely interesting experiences prior to the landing.
I'm reminded of the one Bill Clinton quote I actually like, spoken during the 50th anniversary of D-Day:
When you were young, you saved the world.
A thousand years from now, if we haven't managed to smash our world to splinters, the D-Day invasion will be included in the ranks of historical events like the Norman Conquest, Thermopylae, Marathon, and Avignon.
Thanks for including this in your blog.
Sue
Wonderful post!
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