Met this gentleman thru’ another blog. WWII vet and a real nice guy. He was kind enough to send this poem to me and allow me to post it here. Thanks Allen.
A Special Love
A hero you say. Me? No, not me
It was never for medals or headlines, you see
It was never for glory, but a special love
Of comrades, of Country, of the One Above.
When I stayed by my guns that morning at Pearl
That ignited the flames all over the world,
Or when I remained behind with a wounded pal
Those first awful days on Guadacanal,
When I covered that grenade with my body, I knew
I would die, but otherwise, my buddies would too.
But it was never for glory, but that special love
Of comrades, of Country, of the One Above
When from a carrier deck, we took our turn
On a mission from which we could never return,
We knew all the dangers, but our B-25s
Made a pretty strong statement over Tokyo skies.
When I ran through a minefield to rescue a child,
Or kept pressing forward, though the bodies piled
Higher and higher on Normandy’s shore
And at Iwo and Anzio, Tarawa and more.
Or when we four chaplains decided to give
Our lifebelts to others, that they might live,
We thought not of glory, but a special love
Of comrades, of Country, of the One Above.
When I lifted those pilots from a raging sea,
No thoughts of medals, they would do it for me.
It’s that incredible bond, that ingrained creed
To give of ourselves for a comrade in need.
A hero you say. Me? No not me–and yet,
If you call me a hero, you must never forget
It was never for glory, but a special love
Of Comrades, of Country, of the One Above.
Allen Gibbs
Dennisranch 
Thanks a lot Allen Gibbs for that incredable peoem and for serving this great country. God bless
Interesting that the four chaplains of the poem were commemorated in a ceremony at the VA Center at Ft. Meade last Sunday.
I saw that. Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?
Thank you and of course to JB for blogging it!
Thank You Allen Gibbs for serving and also for a nifty bit of verse. Very touching, and thanks for posting JB.
Dear Father in heaven,
Watch over our country,
Safeguard your own and help us to love you as we ought.
In Jesus name, Amen.