He'd dug himself a foxhole,
And lay looking at the stars.
He could hear some distant talking,
As his friends lit up cigars.
The fighting nearly over,
There'd been no time to stop and ponder;
But now when things got quiet,
His mind began to wander.
He'd killed a man, no, maybe more,
He wasn't really sure,
The fighting was ferocious,
And the silhouettes, a blur.
He wasn't close enough to tell,
He'd seen the one guy fall.
Just reloaded and kept shooting.
Hell, he might have killed them all.
Now, he hadn't talked about it,
All his friends had done the same.
And none of them were heroes
In this vile and deadly game.
"This killing isn't justified,"
He'd heard on CNN.
"Sure, we support our troops,
It's their motive that's the sin."
So, no one thought about him;
No one knew the things he'd done,
Or the part he'd played
In the battle they'd just won.
-=-
In Iraq it was just 2:00 A.M.
But miles and miles away,
A man paused for a moment,
As he started with his day.
He prayed God would be with him,
And forgiveness for his sins;
That God would watch his family,
And bless his closest friends.
He paused for just a moment,
Then continued with his prayer,
"Please bless our U.S. Forces
While they're fighting over there.
"And, bless the unknown soldier,
Who thinks he's all alone.
Let him know you're with him,
And bring him safely home.
"He took my place in combat,
Did not shirk the battle call.
He fought for life and liberty,
A hero to us all."
"Yes, bless this unknown soldier,
For his reasons all are pure.
He put himself in harm's way,
To keep us all secure."
-=-
No one ever felt his heartache,
And they never knew he'd wept.
But as peace wrapped all about him,
The unknown soldier slept.
