By U. James Olson

Dedicated to the Veterans of
American Legion Post No. 35

Hampton, New Hampshire

Memorial Day, May 30, 1990

There is a place where heroes dwell
in the heartbeat of a nation's breast,
in monuments of grass and stone
where brave men are laid to rest

Even those who are unknown to us
are buried in that sacred sod,
and marked, "Here rests in honored glory
one known only to his God.

They also rest in foreign lands
in some corner of a farmer's field,
the true Cost of democracy —
the price we're asked to yield.

Every hamlet in the nation
remembers all of them each year
with flags, parades and flowers —
even the shedding of a tear.

When our nation was in peril
these men came to do their part
and won a special place of honor
in a grateful nation's heart.

These brave citizen soldiers
would have preferred another story
than the one to which destiny catted them
to fulfill their deeds of glory.

Their sacrificial service must
with the living long remain,
to insure that these, our honored dead,
were not sacrificed in vain.

There is a place where heroes dwelt
but no monuments can we see,
for they rest within their broken ships
at the bottom of the sea.

There is a place where heroes dwell
of which men cannot speak.
for they remain within their comrad's hearts
of which the ceiling makes them weep.

There is another place where heroes dwell
from whence they had their start,
Cold Stars within a window
framed by a mother's broken heart.

Let those be warned who must decide
to send young men marching into hell
that they are honor bound to consecrate
a place where heroes dwell.