Just A Simple Sailor He was getting old and paunchy And his hair was failing 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 everyone And tho sometimes to his neighbors His tales became a joke All his buddies listened For they knew whereof he spoke But we'll hear his tales no longer For ol' Bob has passed away And the world's a little poorer For a Sailor died today He won't be mourned by many Just his children and his wife For he lived an ordinary Very quiet sort of life He held a job and raised a family Quietly going on his way And they world won't note his passing Tho a Sailor died today When politicians leave this earth Their bodies lie in state While thousands not their passing And proclaim that they were great Papers tell of their life stories From the time that they were young But the passing of a sailor Goes unnoticed and unsung Is the greatest contribution To the welfare of this land Some jerk who breaks his promise 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? The politicians stipend And the style in which he lives Are sometimes disproportionate To the service that he gives While the ordinary Sailor 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 is so long ago That our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's 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 your really want some cop-out With his ever waffling stand? Or would you want a Sailor Who has sworn to defend His home, his kin, and country And would fight until the end? He was just a common Sailor And this ranks are growing thin But his presence should remind us We may need his kind again For then countries are in conflict Then we find the Sailor's part Is to clean up all the trouble 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 the paper that might say "OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, FOR A SAILOR DIED TODAY"   Author unknown