An old man stood Apart from the crowd Stooped and frail with his heart
beating proud
He shakingly salutes As his beloved flag passes And tears well up behind his
thick glasses
Time was when He was a strapping young man-- Who'd never set foot on a
foreign land
Then his country called And he reported for duty-- Leaving behind his
soft-eyed beau-ty
New friendships were forged On the battlefields plenty-- He lived a whole
lifetime before he was twenty
Some of his pals Were felled by the shots-- Time claimed the
rest who now lie in plots
He gave all he could And would gladly give more If time could turn backward
to a more distant war
One more Parade And I stand midst the throng But I'll stand apart too, once
my buddies have gone
by Michael Diercouff Member of American Legion Post 129
beating proud
He shakingly salutes As his beloved flag passes And tears well up behind his
thick glasses
Time was when He was a strapping young man-- Who'd never set foot on a
foreign land
Then his country called And he reported for duty-- Leaving behind his
soft-eyed beau-ty
New friendships were forged On the battlefields plenty-- He lived a whole
lifetime before he was twenty
Some of his pals Were felled by the shots-- Time claimed the
rest who now lie in plots
He gave all he could And would gladly give more If time could turn backward
to a more distant war
One more Parade And I stand midst the throng But I'll stand apart too, once
my buddies have gone
by Michael Diercouff Member of American Legion Post 129