Ultimate Token of Grief

He felt he owed it to the leader and fatherland the country of ancestry and birth and joined the conquest in cold blood convinced that a chill in his bones was better than defeat a young universal soldier of courage and deceitful promises Honour glory and battle screams lured him into the war of all wars for freedom justice and a badge on his chest With stealthy resolve and his trigger finger happy to kill he marched crawled and cowered in bottomless trenches fierce brave proud and ready to give his boyish conviction cannon fodder no doubt but he never hesitated for the cause believed to be on the right side of endless history and death Invincible he had no conscience other than contempt for the weak and unworthy who stood in the way of his rifle They gave him the Iron Cross First Class for surviving enemy fire so violent that most of his comrades vanished with a last prayer and thoughts of their loved ones at home Ultimately his battalion was mangled and the medal crushed by tank chains when the rusty pin pierced deep into his thorax Missing in action presumed killed he was reduced to a letter widow notified that he received a distinguished service award but the terminal token staid buried close to his shattered heart 23rd March 2021