To the living I am gone
To the sorrowful I will never return
To the angry I was cheated
But to the happy I am at peace

And to the faithful I have never left
I can not speak but I can listen
I can not be seen but I can be heard

So as you stand upon the shore
Gazing at the beautiful sea
Remember me

As you look in awe at a mighty forest
And its grand majesty
Remember me

Remember me in your heart
In your thoughts
And your memories of the times we loved
The times we cried
The battle I fought
And the times we laughed
For if you always think of me
I will have never gone.

It is the soldier,
not the President,
who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress,
who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the Reporter,
who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the Poet,
who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus Organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag;
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.

Father Dennis O'Brien,
US Marine Corp. Chaplain