The Third Row

The Third Row (A Medal of Honor Ceremony Held Nov 16, 2010) There in the third row Invited to see The Medal of Honor Presented to me There sat the parents Of soldiers who died Out in a far field With me by their side Not in the front row No, that couldn’t be They’re in the third row Crammed in knee to knee And just cross the aisle The third row again There sat my parents And my closest kin There, barely seeing Past shoulders and heads There sat my parents As honors were read Why not the front row Who ranked above these Congressmen, Senators I beg of you – please! They were there for the pictures That were sure to be taken As the president left It’s their hands he was shakin’ And what of my parents There in the third row And the parents of soldiers What respect did that show? We soldiers signed oaths To give up life and limb Defending our country But what about him He’s shaking the hands In row one and row two While the folks in row three Don’t know what to do With all due respect We would all like to know Why were all the parents There in the third row? Ssgt Sal Giunta was presented the Medal of Honor at the White House on November 16, 2010 for his heroics during a firefight on Oct 25, 2007.