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I wrote this years ago in honor of a friend of mine.
Where John O'Reilly lay
Alone upon a stricken field
We were sixteen miles away
For half an hour his line held firm
Then bowed and began to sway
But Alpha Company's coming hard
Only seven miles away
To give them time to form again
He alone held all at bay
But he never reached the second line
We were just a mile away
Half unconscious, half awake
Between the lines he lay
We scrambled up the steep hillside
Just a quarter mile away
His hand opened, closed, relaxed again
As his spirit passed away
I saw him go from where I crouched
Just fifteen yards away
His son is grown, I met him once
But I could never say,
"I watched your father as he died
From fifteen yards away."
The day will come when I will pay
The debt we all must pay
May John O'Reilly watch for me
From fifteen yards away.
Fifteen Yards
The jungle's green, the scars are healedWhere John O'Reilly lay
Alone upon a stricken field
We were sixteen miles away
For half an hour his line held firm
Then bowed and began to sway
But Alpha Company's coming hard
Only seven miles away
To give them time to form again
He alone held all at bay
But he never reached the second line
We were just a mile away
Half unconscious, half awake
Between the lines he lay
We scrambled up the steep hillside
Just a quarter mile away
His hand opened, closed, relaxed again
As his spirit passed away
I saw him go from where I crouched
Just fifteen yards away
His son is grown, I met him once
But I could never say,
"I watched your father as he died
From fifteen yards away."
The day will come when I will pay
The debt we all must pay
May John O'Reilly watch for me
From fifteen yards away.
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