The Agency

Our beloved armed forces In the US - of - A, Are resigned in full measure To the prices they pay. When they fall, most are given Due honor and fame, But a few get NO laurels, No prestige or acclaim. They not only pay The ultimate price, But honor is silent For their brave sacrifice. These choice few contend With a war unperceived, With no hills to be taken, No objectives achieved. The battles they fight Are hard to define, Without demarcation, With no thin red line. They do what is asked With inappreciable thanks, Despite all the heroes That make up their ranks. Their work can be risky, And quite often dire, Yet they willingly jump Straight into the fire. And when their assignments Are all said-and-done, They bring home no glory Or grandeur, not one. Not they or their loved ones Can discuss all they gave, For the land of the free, And the home of the brave. And those that are taken By Grim's mortal call, Are thereafter naught ... But a STAR on the wall. Yet for them that's enough, That wall and that star, For it represents all That they honor and are. And if serving their homeland Means that their life is lost, Then our freedom and safety, Is to them, worth the cost. They answered their country's Preeminent call, Now they're stars up in Heaven, Watching over us all.