In sixty-three their country called,
the Army...Navy...Corps
The sweat and bled, an when well trained
were sent to fight a war.
The years rolled by, they took their toll
and boys turned into men.
No matter what the tried it seems...
they wouldn't let them win.
Then when their fight was over
and the war very far behind,
the memories of what they'd known
began to grip their mind.
The dreams at night would keep them up,
careers began to fail.
Their children saw their mothers cry,
and daddies go to jail.
As darkness crept into their lives,
and seeped into their souls ...
They seldom laughed, and rarely cried,
their hearts seem hard as coal.
The old war horse that will not die
the men whose lives are wild,
Some people laughed, and spat at him
and called him .... Thunderchild.
He lives his life a grinding pain ...
the anger will not yield.
For thirty years he's grieved his loss
on distant battlefields.
A war that left him paralyzed
in spirit and his mind.
He's searched for peace most everywhere
and safety he can't find.
I've seen him stare that "thousand yards"
at what I could not see ...
Yet from behind, and where I stood,
he was aware of me.
He raised his head and caught my gaze
I was captured by his eyes... then
His story flashed across my mind
and made me realize.
That in this place where I was born
where freedom isn't free,
Not all that chose to pay it's price
may live their lives like me.
They are out there in their darkness
and they've been there all the while ...
Drop to your knees and ask God please,
please comfort ... the Thunderchild.
~ Joseph L. Byrne ~
"Mike" Co. 3rd Bn 3rd Marines
VietNam 1965-1966
M-60 Machine Gunner
Semper Fidelis
Dear Doc:
Today ...as you know ...is the 35th Anniversary of the Marine engagement known as: "Operation Starlite". I want to thank you ...and all my Corpsmen brothers, for your dedication to duty, under the most difficult of circumstances during the years of "Mike" Company's involvement in VietNam. I am so proud of you; I could never put my emotion into words. Many of us breathe today ...and have grandchildren due to the bravery of our Navy brothers. Semper Fi, Cliff, I love you bro! My brothers ...somehow, in my mind ...thirtyfive years is as a puff of smoke when I reflect on the day we "saddled up" for that peninsula. I needed to tell you, each and every one, that I cannot (will not) allow a single day to pass, without remembering our brothers that fell ...killed, or wounded. That week was seared into my soul, never to be removed. It's foolish of me to reminisce with words that can be understood by so few, when so many have questions that are so much larger than any explanation. In an attmept to cause understanding, I offer "Thunderchild" to the loved ones of... and my brothers that survived VietNam ... yet didn't completely survive VietNam. I've spent the years of my life as one of those that didn't come all the way home. I make no excuses for my life's difficulties. I realize that the price of freedom, for our way of life, is an ongoing debt that must be paid. For our brothers that fell, it was a one-time payment ... but their families and loved ones continue to suffer. For our brothers that returned ... some did well, and prospered. Yet their lives are connected to the homeless and broken as well. To my brothers, whose lives were ravaged by their memories, I honor you. I salute you ... I know you.
Semper Fidelis
~Marines of Mike Company~
Your brother, your comrade, your friend
Joseph L. Byrne
Mike Company 3/3/ Weapons Platoon
GUNS UP!!!
