Wow George, thank you. I'm sending this to everyone I know.

Thanks in the name of all that are serving this country today to guarantee the freedom of all of us. Let me say too that there's a group of undeserving individuals caught in a time warp whose freedom to burn the flag and to spit on the soldiers is also gallantly defended by our soldiers. Take America back, kick a libzilla in the arse!

Val - truer words have never been written.

God bless our soldiers and their families.

They deserve nothing but respect and reverance.

I would add one line: It is the soldier who protects those who hate him.

Here's the entire poem

It Is The Soldier

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army

The poem should be engraved in stone in a monument to the freedoms that this country affords to all of us.

Thank all of you for your kind words. Per the post by "CB" please visit:

http://www.pattonhq.com/koreamemorial.html

where you will see that a version of my poem is, indeed, etched in granite.

God Bless America

Mike Province
The Patton Society
http://www.pattonhq.com