Do you know Freedom's Price?

Question

FREEDOMS PRICE
When people say that they're proud to live in the land of liberty,
Do they know the price it really costs for them to say that they're free?

Probably not.

Do they remember the man, who fought in trenches on foreign soil, through barbwire and mustard gas and today can hardly breathe,

The one who went away a boy, and came home a physically scarred man?

Not really.

Or maybe they recall the one that pushed in the haunting gates at Auschwitz,

To stop the tyrannical reign of a madman bent on annihilation and world domination, Who can't sleep well at night because the faces, in his dreams, still haunt him.

Never heard.

Or, could it be, the one at their local bar that acts like an overgrown college frat kid, Who dug graves for his buddies, with a pot hat and bayonet, in the frozen earth near a lake, And is now remembered, by others that also survived, as one of the "Chosen Few".

That guy?

No, it's probably the teenager that went to a jungle paradise halfway around the planet, And spent his nights working as a ghost, in a program our government still denies happened Who no longer exists, even though you can see him, and did the things no one else would Because the job needed to be done and so it was with deadly accuracy and precision.

Who's that?

Could it be the young second lieutenant that crashed in a medivac chopper, And spent the last minutes of his life frantically trying to grasp a gold band left on his bed, Not realizing he was burnt so grotesquely that he no longer had a wife or any fingers left.

Didn't know.

Maybe, it's the one that burned in when his chute didn't deploy right, and drowned in the ocean off the coast of a small island in the Caribbean going to protect some students at a University, when some radical dictator tried to take over.

Where's that?

Let's not forget that fourteen year old, uneducated farm boy, that walked in front of his unit,With nothing to protect himself with, but his guts, two sticks, and a snare drum, On a green field that ran red with the blood of 56,000 dead, outside a town in Pennsylvania.

Kids fought?

Nope, it's the guy with two plastic hips, a composite knee, half a shoulder muscle missing, a scar from his spine to his breast bone, and another from his chest to his groin and nerve damage in both arms so bad from having his elbows broken that he can't feel fingers,but still found it in his heart to mentor a snotty nosed moron who didn't know his *** from a hole in the ground because he owed that kids dead father ten bucks for a cab ride twenty years ago.

Who'd thought.

Could be that Special Forces sniper, who jumped out of a perfectly good chopper with a buddy, to protect some wounded comrades on the ground, ran out of ammo, and fought to his death against an African warlord, and had his naked corpse drug through the streets for his efforts.

Wasn't aware.

How about the guy who spent seven years in captivity, enduring torture and mind games, Who tried to remain strong with his friends, who were also at the Hilton, tapping messages and felt he couldn't look his father proudly in the eye when he got home, because he broke.

Forgot him.

What about the guy who ate sand for six months, in a godforsaken desert in the middle east,That made sure he just did his job right, so his buddies could have some relief from the heat and today can't figure out why the left side of his body is palsied, and not working right.

Oh him.

How about the three, who represent the many, in a grave yard in Virginia
Guarded by a spit and polished, poster boy private who's proud to say,
I didn't know them but it's important that I stand their eternal watch.

He's there?

It has to be the one that launches an eighty million dollar aircraft out on the deep, That doesn't understand the importance of what it is that he does yet, He's just pissed that he's old enough to die, but he can't have a beer in his own country yet.

So what.

How about the one, who's aunt basically spit in his face at Christmas dinner, When he sat there in his dress blues and she said that if this war calls for draftees She already had a fund for her sons to go to Canada and sit this one out.

Her choice.

That's right, it is her choice, it's freedom of choice, _expression, assembly and speech The exact things that make this country free, and what we have defended through many conflicts.

All they ask for is a look, a nod, a handshake, a simple thank you, that means more than any medal, A chest full of ribbons, a body full of scars, and a mind full of ancient memories is what's carried, By those that go in defense of freedoms that you enjoy each and every day.

The flag that some burn, is the one which they have, do, and will defend It's the one that they salute, that drapes their coffin, and is presented to their families when they fall.

So remember that freedom comes with a price, and it is one that is great,A price that not everyone is willing to pay, but some are willing to take for granted. Remember and give thanks, for those, who have, do, and will pay that price so that you can live free. Do not take for granted that which has been given to you by those who came before.

Do not forget them, do not desecrate their memories, do not take their gift for granted. Many paid the price for your liberty and freedom, So remember them with honor, dignity, and respect.

Written By: Petty Officer Third Class Aerr K. Eltringham
Aircrew Survival Equipmentman

Answer 1

My Grandfather in WW1
My Uncle buried overseas after being blown up by a land mine in WW11
My Uncle who made it home from Viet Nam but was never the same. Put a shotgun in his mouth and ended it.
My Son who thankfully has made it back from Iraq.
And to the many other members of my family and other families whom have made the supreme sacrifice. Let us have a moment of silence for that sacrifice each day.
Bless you Petty Officer Third Class Aerr K. Eltringham

Answer 2

There are many of us here who DO know freedom's price because we have paid it. We have missed the birthdays of our children and our anniversaries. We have spent YEARS separated from our families in foreign lands that meant us no good. We enlisted in times of turmoil and continue to re-enlist today - no matter how grim things look on the battlefield or the American political landscape. We serve no matter who is commander in chief or what his leadership philosophies seem to be. We have paid the price with our arms, our legs, our blood and, sometimes, our souls. We have laid down our lives so others do not have to.

We do this because we truly know what it means to love one's country. We do this because we want to make this a better world for our children. We do this so others may enjoy the freedom we see so little of in the world.

Peace.

Answer 3

I suppose you don't think very much. That's a little unfair, I think you have been conditioned to believe a lot of stuff without questioning it.

Answer 4

THANK YOU! All service men and women have my respect
Respectfully submitted: X

Answer 5

http://www.poofcat.com/july.html
My teacher asked me to say this in 6th grade,and I still know it by {heart}
,almost 40 years later!!