This page is dedicated to those who paid the ultimate price. Untarnished Honor Is the Silver Star tarnished in its case? And its ribbon lost its brilliant hues? Given so long ago For devotion to duty And for brave acts that few can match Have their faces faded from your memory? Or do you remember them still? Sweating and dirty in the midst of smoke and shell Hollow eyed with whiskered chins Trying to survive the fight! Has their laughter been silenced? And their swagger replaced by a limp? Did the scars of war Cut into youthful sinew and marrow And scuttle the hope of a pain free life? Yes, the strength of youth may be gone And the medals lost some of their gleam But this day the bugle’s strain Awakens us, as in that former time When, under our nation’s colors, we served. Once more the anthem lifts our spirits As it did then When our country’s uniforms were cloaks of honor And the pride of duty filled our hearts Brothers and sisters united and forever free! Friends, do not mourn the passage of time Or for those who here sleep the eternal sleep They have their reward And we have this, our great nation Purchased by their untarnished honor Backgrounds and HTML code 2003-2008 by Shorty. Top picture uncredited photo. Poem by David Lawson © Copyright, April 2000. Bottom picture 2000 by Shorty. last update: 5/15/08