Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine...

Epitaph Written on the Gate of the 2nd MarDiv Cemetary on Betio

To you, who lie within this coral sand,
We, who remain, pay tribute of a pledge
That dying, thou shalt surely not
Have died in vain.
That when again bright morning dyes the sky
And waving fronds above shall touch the rain,
We give you this—that in those times
We will remember.

We lived and fought together, thou and we,
And sought to keep the flickering torch aglow
That all our loved ones might forever know
The blessed warmth exceeding flame,
The everlasting scourge of bondsman's chains,
Liberty and light.

When we with loving hands laid back the earth
That was for moments short to couch thy form
We did not bid a last and sad farewell,
But only 'Rest ye well.'
Then with this humble, heartfelt epitaph
That pays thy many virtues sad acclaim
We marked this spot, and, murm'ring requiem,
Moved on to Westward.

      -- Capt. Donald L. Jackson, USMC

To absent comrades...

In other news...

What began as a tickling in the throat has become a fairly noticeable sore throat.

I don't know whether screaming bloody epithets at my computer after having lost two hours of work this morning is a contributing factor, but now my eyes are starting to feel a little scratchy.

I am going to take it easy until further notice, which may only be an hour or two.

Cheers...