MY MONUMENT
 
Which screeching shell my fate shall tell;
   What grave be mine I spurn;
To give my might for truth and right
   Is but the chance I yearn.
The blade is sharp, the wire is thick,
    And distanced is the goal;
I'll gain or die and dying thus
    Will expurgate my soul.
 
 
For who has fear, though death be near,
   Whose cause is true and just?
Far better he a wraith may be
    To mingle with his dust.
No laurel wreath nor victor's crown
    Want I with accolade,
But love and faith in man by man
     And enmities belayed.
 
 
If death I face what time or place
    We meet is no ado,
Let not a stain nor blotch remain
     To mark our rendezvous:
No cross to tell a soulful tale
     Of where our fight was fought
But God's green mat, the gift of time,
     To speak the peace I bought.
 
 
Written by 1st Lt. Joseph R. Cushing
314th Infantry Co. G
From the book "Doughboy Ditties"
1927