News : Just a Common Soldier

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER (A Soldier Died Today) by A. Lawrence Vaincourt He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast, And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past. Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done, In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one. And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke, All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke. But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away, And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today. He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife, For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life. Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way, And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today. When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state, While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great. Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young, But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung. Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man? Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife, Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life? A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives. While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all, Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small. It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago, That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys, Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys. Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand, Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand? Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end? He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin, But his presence should remind us we may need his like again. For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start. If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise, Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days. Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say, Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today. Editor's note: We published this poem on Memorial Day, not knowing its author. We have since learned that the poem was written in 1987 by the Canadian columnist, A.L. Vaincourt. Vaincourt's son Randy, let us know that his dad wrote the poem, and share his thoughts about it. The original version above differs from that which we published in May. Randy Vaincourt said: Sadly as the poem has made its way around the world, people have felt free to alter some of its words. My father would never have used the word "jerk" in a poem!
My dad was a popular newspaper columnist for decades. As part of his weekly column he frequently included an original poem. JUST A COMMON SOLDIER was written in a usual rush to deadline for the Remembrance Day 1987 edition of his paper. A WW II veteran himself, my father had started noticing how many of his peers were passing away with little or no fanfare. The poem was then republished in his 1991 book RHYMES AND REFLECTIONS, and his subsequent 2004 collection, JUST A COMMON SOLDIER.
It really took on a life of its own when Ann Landers ran it in her column. Suddenly we were flooded with reprint requests from all over the world, from Britain and Australia to India and Singapore. I currently handle about 300 requests a year, particularly around Memorial and Remembrance Days.
We have more of his work on our website at www.vaincourt.homestead.com, and you can listen to his final radio interview there as well. It was Memorial Day 2008 on the syndicated Coast To Coast show.
-Randy Vaincourt