John Davis, UAW Local 2195 retiree, Region 8 Webmaster, Ardmore, Tenn.

‘It’s a soldier’s life’

It’s six weeks of basic training and a haircut that skins to the bone.

It’s a big ugly sergeant yelling at you until he turns blue.

It’s a 10-mile hike in the rain and a ringing in your ears from the sound of gunfire.

It’s sleeping on the ground in Iraq and the monsoons of Vietnam.

It’s cold beans, long nights and a loneliness that can penetrate your soul.

It’s a Sunday morning in Pearl, a beach in Normandy and a flag over Iwo Jima.

It’s a uniform covered in your buddy’s blood from carrying him three miles through enemy lines to safety.

It’s a dance with a pretty girl from the USO and a cup of coffee at a dark outpost.

It’s an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf and a tent in a Vietnam jungle.

It’s a “Dear John” letter, a faded photograph and a broken heart.

It’s Bob Hope for Christmas and a box of homemade cookies that took two months to arrive.

It’s missed first steps and last breaths and letters from home that relay the tales.

It’s a kiss in Times Square, a battle at Bunker Hill and a pair of dog tags that identify you.

It’s a sand storm that pelts your body with the razor-sharp nuggets.

It’s the hum of a Huey descending to snatch you from a rice paddy filled with Vietcong.

It’s a wall of granite in Washington that contains the names of 58,000 of your closest friends.

It’s a flag-draped coffin and a grateful nation.

It’s a calling, not a job, and a duty, not a chore.

It’s a satisfaction of knowing you lived a life serving others.

It is a soldier’s life.