Pushing past heroes
from Honor Flight
with flags and banners,
people calling their names.
From Mteule to Kabul,
from Baghdad to Hue,
after all these years
today was their day.
Oh, the burden they carry,
I heard a woman say.
I wonder if our children
would you serve today?
But not far
another plane took off,
with soldiers and sailors,
their noble duties should be fulfilled.
Welcome, little wife,
two children beside him.
It is a burden he carries
while the plane is flying.
And beyond the sea
in the old country,
reduced metal path,
song from the band.
A coffin with a flag.
A fallen hero.
It’s a burden they carried,
and they carried it with pride.
Emptiness and sadness,
pain and loss.
It is a burden they carry.
An unbearable cost.
They swore
support and defend.
It is a burden they carried
until the end.
Pushing past heroes
from Honor Flight
with flags and banners,
people calling their names.
From Fallujah to Khe Sanh,
from VE to VJ,
after all these years
today was their day.
The little boy waved
while the elderly pass by.
Home to a hero’s welcome.
Home at last.
It is a burden they carry
for a day like today.
It is a sacred price
that they gladly pay.
But for those who carry
the greatest burden of all,
to their loved ones who have never been
he came home –
God be with you
and let you know,
you will never carry that burden
alone.
