Robert A. Hall

BURIAL DETAIL, SAN DIEGO 1965

The Cub Scout uniform was navy blue,
A contrast to the pride of forest green,
The boy was barely nine, and yet we knew
He shared the pride, his father was Marine.

We came to honor and to lay to rest
A father newly dead in Vietnam.
The cub whose motto was “to do his best”
Had masked his pain with courage and with calm.

He came that summer day to show us all
Just how it’s done. A hero barely nine,
But should I chance in such a way to fall,
I could not ask an honor more sublime.

We fired our volleys while the family grieved.
Presented arms, you know the usual scene
And then he changed, I know you’ll not believe,
The cub salute, for one like the Marine.

And so we saw a boy become a man,
While standing to, and blinking back the tears.
I doubt you will believe, or understand,
But I have carried it through all the years.