Death and Dismemberment III

riverwriter · #2 06-28-2006, 06:26 PM

The whole concept of valour in war is somewhat paradoxical, as we are speaking of the nobility of performing the most heinous acts. This piece, ostendibly spoken by a career soldier, hits that realm, particularly when the soldiers meet in heaven as soldiers.

The line "Top sergeant" was somewhat orphaned. Was he a top sergeant throughout three wars? and what is its relationship to the stanza that follows?

The revelation that he dies of gangrene complications seems a little out of step with the fact that he had retired.

I have to admire your ability to put yourself into the mind of this man, and you certainly have represented the sensibility of such a man.

riverstone · #3 06-28-2006, 07:21 PM

"Top" is the common nickname used for the senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) in a unit. It comes from identifying the "top shirt," the one with the most bars. This is a poem about a friend of ours who served in the U.S. Special Forces. The gangrene was the end result of so many wounds from so many wars. Tops are heroes to the men and women who serve under them. They are the ones who make sure new soldiers stay alive to have the chance of being old soldiers. To the Tops I have known, every man they lost, whose name appears on the black marble wall of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, was a man they remembered and grieved. I have also never known a Top who was not revered by the men and women who served with them.

Oasis Writer · #4 06-29-2006, 01:32 PM

Wow... straight from the start that captivated me. Sorta like the song, "Soldier Side" if you've ever heard of it, but different. A soldiers life, freedoms....great. This is something vets on July 4th would read and love. Great work.

riverstone · #5 06-29-2006, 02:23 PM

Thanks Oasis - I will look up the song asap. I remember Hank so well, and John, the Special Forces Tops I have know, that each time I try and read this aloud, I tear up at the last lines.

kal · #6 06-29-2006, 02:48 PM

Something hit me about this, and something felt missing. I fear the missing part was on my side rather than yours. I've never lost anyone to war, nor have I been a part of it. So I cannot understand this as a whole, but I still felt something as my heart strings were tugged and snapped on the last line.

Great work Kit.

riverstone · #7 06-29-2006, 03:12 PM

Thanks, Kali-Kitty. I think it is not so much having lost someone for me, but coming to know these veterans. I met thousands of them and listened to hundreds of stories, and became close to many men and women and their families.