A memorial to my uncle who died in Vietnam.

[Bruce McAuley]

The following was written today, Memorial Day 2005 by my wife, Wendy, upon reflecting on her uncle, Michael Bannon Dooley, who was Special Forces, and died on Aug 25, 1968 in a NVA assault on a Special Forces outpost.

"Am I the only one left to cry?
After 4 decades have gone by?
For a young man who went to die,
in a war that still has us asking why?
Now we're at war again,
losing more of our young men.
Leaving us wondering the why of war yet again,
maybe so we won't see the aristocracy where a democracy had been.
Do we notice the homeless on the street,
While the infrastructure crumbles at our feet,
while the elite run operations
profiting multi-national corporations?
War makes money for the few.
and makes people forget what they once knew:
No quarrel is worth the price
if it's our loved ones' life that must be paid
for the profits the corporations made."

Slightly tweaked by the word elf, me.

Bruce

[sellitman]

1. Nominated & Kicked

May they all rest in peace.


-Even us.....someday.

[MidwestMomma]

2. Thank you for sharing

What a wonderful memorial.

[Bruce McAuley]

3. Memorial Day is a tough holiday for us

We both have lost friends and lovers to the Vietnam War, and have seen the legacy of Agent Orange after-effects, and wonder if the Depleted Uranium will be with us as long or longer than the killer dioxin.
Any memorials we can make to reach the younger ones and make them re-assess the fallacy of war is worthwhile, let's learn from our mistakes and move on to peace, the blessed home.

Bruce