I kept a countdown calendar when I was in the Army, as did many of the guys. As your number of remaining days dwindled down, you were ultimately considered "short". I had less than 90 days remaining when I wrote A Salute to the Army, and it expresses just how much I loved it all.
A Salute to the Army
Pressure’s building up inside
My time is drawing near
I count the days ‘til I complete
This third and final year
I’m looking back remembering
The suffering and pain
The leaders so incompetent
And half the time insane
I think back to the NCOs
So ignorant and lazy
Selected trash from broken homes
And each a little crazy
And think about the officers
Whose job it is to lead
An adolescent clan of kids
A motley bunch indeed
They scream and shout the whole day through
That nothing’s getting done
Harassment is their only job
And only source of fun
To sum it up I’ll simply state
Civilian life is swell
Those lifer dudes and black-striped kids
Can all go straight to Hell
But one thing that the Army does
I must admit is clever
Without so much as trying
They make three years last forever
Steven Pein
16 May 1968
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1 comment:
Great poem. I'm sure you look back on those times and don't have such disdain as that conjured by your words. Analaogous to High School and College. We all hated it and couldn't wait to get done and graduate. Looking back, however, those were the best years of many of our lives and we only dream that we could have things so easy again.
- Mike
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