Today is National Freedom Day. It celebrates the day on February 1st, 1865 that President Lincoln signed a joint House and Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery. About 10 years ago, my best friend, Phil Park, suggested I write a poem with the famous graffiti from Khe Sanh: “… for those who have fought for it, freedom has a special taste the protected will never know.” That phrase is usually attributed to an unknown Marine or soldier at Khe Sanh, though a Marine Lance Corporal named Tim Craft claims he asked a reporter to send a slightly different message back to the States. He says the message was, “For those that will fight for it…Freedom…has a flavor the protected shall never know.” (Italics mine.) That famous phrase addresses the ethos required to keep American free.
The Taste of Freedom
“Freedom” is a simple word,
Comes easy from the lips,
Found in patriotic songs
And motion picture scripts.
You hear it spoken everywhere,
In dive and fine salon,
By people stationed high and low,
In denim and chiffon.
It’s used by politicians,
Up on Cap’tal Hill,
‘Specially when they’re trying hard
To pass some doubtful bill.
You hear it at the football games,
On college campus, too.
You hear it almost everywhere
In everything you do.
But do we truly realize
The value in that word,
So often uttered from our lips,
So ubiquitously heard?
You often hear folks comment
On Freedom’s pure, sweet taste,
But I have to wonder
On what that opinion’s based.
We say that we cherish it,
But if we really know
How valuable it surely is,
Why do we let it go?
Some folks far too willingly
Trade Freedom for Secure.
Do they know what Freedom means?
Are they ever sure?
Our Freedom is eternally bought
With our Patriot’s blood
Spilled on hot, desert sand
And in jungle mud;
Bought by gory sacrifice
In far-off lands and home,
In high mountain’s majesty
And on the ocean’s foam;
Bought on sun-lit battlefields
And in the dead of night;
Bought on deadly beaches
And in frozen winter’s fight.
How many of us are willing,
In air, on land and sea,
To fight for the meaning of the word?
To fight to keep us free?
Freedom has a special taste
That seems so apropos,
Savored by those who fought for it,
That the protected never know.
Sources: National Freedom Day – Wikipedia; http://www.togetherweteach.com/Sayings/TimCraftstory.htm.
Note: For more poems about patriots and patriotic events, see Patriotic Poems by Lee Austin, available through Amazon.