Veterans' baggage

When a member of the military completes his or her tour of duty in a war zone they lay down their weapons, gather their personal belongings and begin the trip home. They leave a world of harsh reality, danger, surrealistic events and close personal bonds. The memories of this time in every war veteran's life are the baggage carried by many and it remains long after youth has passed.

Those memories include names and faces of comrades who left an indelible impression on the veteran's life. Some went on to live full lives, others were scarred by their experience, and then there were those we lost. Our relationship to those who did not come home will last as long as we remember those who served with us.

A poem was posted on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall website by someone who served in the same unit as myself. The posting was meant to memorialize machine gunner PFC Craig A. Newell, 20, who died June 10, 1969, in Quang Tin province, Vietnam. I just discovered this and want to pass it on in memory of all who have died in service to our country.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

-- Mary Frye, 1932

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.