Shalom

One thousand men eat one last meal before they dress to fight.
One thousand men before God kneel to pray for strength and might.

At home one man remembers Nam before he takes his meal.
And asks his God, "protect my son from fire and angry steel.”

One thousand men include a boy who's grown beyond his age.
One thousand men and guns deploy for death, the soldier’s wage.

“A year from now I'll be back home" still echoes deep inside.
A son's last word to dad, "shalom" as man to man they cried.

One thousand men see hell firsthand, no horror ever worse.
One thousand men, the boy's command, encounter Satan's curse.

Across the sea a man still prays “protect my son from death.”
On soil in Nam a soldier lays, "shalom" is on his breath.

One thousand men return with scars and wounds that never heal.
Some men are draped with stripes and stars no truth will they reveal.

One man still prays within his home for safety for his son.
He often hears that last "shalom” forgetting that he's gone.