Worth sharing

Rico says his friend Tex forwards this:

A Poem (author unknown):
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
As he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in,
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors<
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly,
For they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer,
For a Soldier died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way.
The world won't note his passing,
Tho a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young;
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Someone who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal,
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand;
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?
Or would you want a Soldier,
His home, his country, his kin;
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end?
He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
Our country is in mourning,a service person died today.

Rico says that his old friend Bob, a former Marine, is not dead, but will be (as will we all), so we should do him honor now, while he's alive...