American Veterans, both young and old

Have in their hearts a story untold.

For I know that they wonder “Does anyone care

That I valiantly fought with my friends who died there?”

Our Veterans of War all paid such a great cost,

Many were harmed and so many were lost.

They fought without question, for our liberty,

The right of Americans all to be free.

So thanks for the freedom to run and to play

That I enjoyed through my much younger days.

Thanks for the freedom to learn and to grow,

To make my own choices wherever I go.

Thanks for the freedom to speak my own mind,

So many are bound and afraid in this time.

Yet, I have the freedom to choose what I’ll be,

A freedom that you have secured just for me.

Yes, thanks for the freedom, though we’ll never meet,

I know all you’ve done to make my life complete.

With freedom to dream and to reach for the stars,

A right that was won for me by all your scars.

Thanks for the freedom I have every day

To plan and to choose, to worship and pray,

To live in a home with my own family

And raise them to know what it means to be free.

I’ll always remember the price that you paid

And ask God to bless you through all of your days.

I worship Him freely, a right you secured

Through the trials and the battles that you have endured.

And although I have never fought battles of war

There is one thing of which you can always be sure:

Through all of my life I will never forget

The debt that I owe

The American Vet

November 1999