One More Soldier

A chaplain in the army
That was stationed in Iraq
Sat sadly beside a soldier
Who'd been wounded in the back

The man knew he was dying
And the chaplain heard him say
“Father hear my story then
Join with me as I pray”

My orders were to guard the streets
In this distant foreign place
I saw the tears and misery
On each sad and haunted face

The mortar shells were falling
In the streets and all around
I dived for safety in the dirt
And tightly hugged the ground

I saw things no man should see
I watched little children die
All torn apart by missiles
That were falling from the sky

I could hear a tiny baby
As it whimpered and it cried
Cradled in its mother’s arms
As she lay there and she died

I saw my fellow soldiers fall
In a suicide attack
I pulled one man to safety
But got wounded in the back

Father tell my wife for me
I’ll miss her loving touch
Please tell her that I’m sorry
And I love her very much

When you see my little son
Do your best to tell him why
His Daddy came here to this place
Why I fought, and had to die

Please tell them Father what it is
That we’ve been fighting for
And I hope that they’ll be proud
Of me for serving in this war

Father, the light is getting dim
And it’s hard for me to see
I really wish that I were home
It is where I want to be

The young man slowly closed his eyes
Then drew in his last breath
Another husband and father
Had been lost to us in death

"And when he gets to Heaven,
To Saint Peter he will tell,
One more soldier reporting sir,
I've served my time in Hell"

* Final verse is a quote by -Sgt. James A. Donahue