On the coast of somewhere beautiful

Knew I could never hold that girl
She was born to see the world
All I got is a picture she mailed me
Barefoot in the snow white sand
A bag of sea shells in her hand
She finally found a paradise it seems

On the coast of somewhere beautiful
Trade winds blowin through her hair
Sunlight dancin on the water
And I wish I was there
Don’t know how I’m goin’ to find her
All I know so far
She’s on the coast of somewhere beautiful
Runnin’ with my heart

Sometimes whne the sun goes down
Shadows fall across this little town
And I close my eyes and I drift away
To another place in another time
When the world was ours and she was mine
I dream of holdin her again someday

On the coast of somewhere beautiful
Trade winds blowin through her hair
Sunlight dancin on the water
And I wish I was there
Dont know how I’m gonna find her
All I know so far
Shes on a coast somewhere beautiful
Runnin with my heart

Dont know how I’m goin to find her
All I know so far
Shes on the coast of somewhere beautiful
Runnin with my heart
Ohh she’s runnin with my heart
On the coast of somewhere beautiful

A Story To Think About

In August of 1942, the first major USMC assault landings against the Japanese Empire occurred in the Solomon Islands, Pacific. The island chosen for the invasion was Guadalcanal.

As they moved inland, four Marines were walking point into the jungle. Advancing into an open area without cover, they came under heavy fire from the entrenched Japanese. All four Marines were wounded but managed to crawl into a shell crater, about fifty yards from where they had emerged from the jungle.

A Hospital Corpsman ran from cover into the crater with the wounded Marines, and ran back to cover, under fire. Having dressed the wounds of the Marine, he sprinted back for another, only this time he was hit. Not stopping to dress his own wounds, he carried the second Marine to cover receiving a second wound. After giving aid to the Marine, the Corpsman was hit for a third time going into the crater. Staggering toward the treeline with the third Marine, he was again struck by enemy fire.

When the third Marine's wounds were dressed, the Corpsman started after the last Marine in the crater. The Corpsman still had not stopped to care for his own wounds. In a final valiant effort, he stumbled toward the crater, where he was brought down by concentrated enemy machine gun fire. He lunged forward into the crater falling across the fourth Marine, finally giving up his life.

Reaching up to his own bleeding wounds, the Marine wrote on the back of the Corpsman's bullet riddled shirt,
"WHERE ANGELS AND MARINES FEAR TO TREAD, THERE YOU'LL FIND A CORPSMAN DEAD."

This was that dying Marine's final tribute to his shipmate's supreme sacrifice in fulfilling his oath, "TO AID THE WOUNDED, IN THEIR MOMENT OF NEED."

A Corpsman's Prayer

Grant me, oh Lord, for the coming events;

Enough knowledge to cope and some plain common sense.

Be at our side on those nightly patrols;

And be merciful judging our vulnerable souls.

Make my hands steady and as sure as a rock;

when the others go down with a wound or in shock.

Let me be close, when they bleed in the mud;

With a tourniquet handy to save precious blood.

Here in the jungle, the enemy near;

Even the corpsman can't offer much lightness and cheer.

Just help me, oh Lord, to save lives when I can;

Because even out there is merit in man.

If It's Your will, make casualties light;

And don't let any die in the murderous night.

These are my friends I'm trying to save;

They are frightened at times, but You know they are brave.

Let me not fail when they need so much;

But to help me serve with a compassionate touch.

Lord, I'm no hero -- my job is to heal;

And I want You to know Just how helpless I feel.

Bring us back safely to camp with dawn;

For too many of us are already gone.

Lord bless my friends If that's part of your plan;

And go with us tonight, when we go out again.

Author Unknown

My Prayer

Dear Lord,

There's a young man or woman far from home, called to serve their nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep them safe, we pray You keep them strong, we pray You send them safely home ... for they've been away so long. Bless those who await their safe return and those who mourn the lost. Bless those who serve this country well, no matter what the cost.