We Were Young Then

By E.W. Richardson

Looking back over the years, three decades or more ago, we were
were strong, filled with bright dreams but as we entered that war, pain became
our companion. Ah, yes, we were young then, but many of us, here and now
can still feel the sickness, the injury, the death...and we still feel the
pain... it is all a part of our dreams. We were young then and some returned
only in memories, faded photographs or as names chiseled into a black, stone
wall...all of us lost a part of ourselves. We are no longer young, but
deep inside there resides something uniquely ours...hearts that fill with
pride when we see the flag popping in the wind, eyes that fill with tears
at the sound of taps...and when we meet, we are brothers, bonded forever
by war.