Innocence Lost Poem by Teresa Dearing

Forgotten heros, forgotten glory,
Young and eager, this is my story.
I marched to war, so proud and so tall,
Never knew, I'd return so small.
We came to liberate, we came to free,
The people there, cried let us be.
Sent home, maimed and broken,
With tin metals, as my token.
They say good job, now go away,
And shake us off, just like a stray.
No home, no money, not enough pay,
For the rest of my life, I rue that day.
Eager and proud, to serve and protect,
That solem vow, they now reject.
Where is the hero? Where are the cheers,
Discarded and lost, blinded by tears.
I once was eager to answer the call,
Now broken, unwanted, such a long fall.

For many of our heros, great is the cost,
The star extinguished, their inocence lost.