Forgotten Stones: A Prayer

 

Wake up Hoshea, son of Nun, from the sacred tomb that hides your bones
Favor my rifle, heart and armor to once more defend my post!
Plead for the crimson of my flag, old soul, to The Great,
For it is sanctified by the blood of heroes past.
Accept my offering to thee,
This bullet that has spared today a father’s life.
Oh, blessed be!
Rise from your grave, servant of God, and let your courage shelter me
As mortars fall to crush and maim.
And let my Soldiers rise above their guilt, their fears, and their shame.
This blessed day I pray to thee My sacred nation here to see; our sweat and tears fed your grave,
Our blood, our toil, our selfless acts to shield the Land of Free and innocents of war that
warmness has befled.

Oh, blessed be!

The hallowed precepts of our creed, as consecrated infantry, Let them be heard by friend and foe,
on land and stormy sea; And let our wisdom guide our cannon’s light for all to see
That we are strong, but also filled with love for widow, child,
And hope for People’s Liberty.
Wake up Hoshea, son of Nun, and see the candle that I light
For thee and for all heroes past who died in fight for God And for my country’s might.

Oh, blessed be!

As bodies of my fallen brothers fill the lead-lined caskets; As worms infest their flesh, and putrid
smell our nostrils; As they are laid in common ground – Let it be known
That they have given all for freedom and for peace.
Let rifleman and priest alike invoke their spirit’s candor
For our States.
Let widowed spouses, sons and daughters
Venerate the reminiscence of the names forgotten
On pieces of stone, at the graves in the sand.

Oh, blessed be!

I pray that you have a blessed 4th!

—Lt. Alexander Thymmons
Written after a patrol 4 July 2007 near the reputed tomb of the Biblical prophet Joshua in Iraq in the midst of the Iraqi tribal “Awakening.”

 

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March 2023