Taps

I wept until the bitterness
Scalded my broken heart
The desert that just took your life
Has torn our world apart

The names we spoke in brighter days
Now shine before God’s throne
And though we know you fought for us
We’re still left here alone

Too many loved ones lost to us
Too many nights we’ve cried
Too many wives have wept alone
Too many friends have died.

Your wife won’t hold you close again
Nor touch the face of love
Though in the sleeplessness of night
That’s all that she’s thinking of

Your kids sleep far from where you fell,
They’ll wake to find you’re gone.
They’ll grow up without knowing you
And learn to carry on

Because that’s what we have to do,
The families left behind.
We stand together and we wait,
Our lives are intertwined,

Those whose husbands, sons and dads
March home to laugh and brag
And those whose men come home alone
Beneath a tight draped flag.

Too many loved ones lost to us
Too many nights we’ve cried
Too many wives have wept alone
Too many friends have died.

The hollow ache of ceaseless grief
The bitter salt of tears
Give way in time to memories
And slowly fading fears
But we won’t let your names be lost
Through all the passing years.

DOD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died in Afghanistan. The soldiers were assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Spc. Troy O. Tom, 21, of Shiprock, N.M.
Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney, 20, of Litchfield, Minn.
Capt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California.
Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona.
Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
Spc. Jonathan D. Welch, 19, of Yorba Linda, California
Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu, 20, of Cumberland, Maine
Spc. Tyler R. Walshe, 21, of Shasta California
Spc. Kevin J. Graham, 27, of Benton, Ky
Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, 27, of South Ozone Park, N.Y.
Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, 24, of Alamo, Texas.
Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Ind.
Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Mo.
Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, La.
Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Ill.
Pfc. Christopher I. Walz, 25, of Vancouver, Wash.