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For Our Soldiers


04.26.10 Posted in today's words by

Dr. Elaine H. Olaoye is a professor of psychology at Brookdale Community College. She is also a published poet and she wrote this in honor of US troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as all the other places we have sent them and continue to send them. Elaine will be reading this poem accompanied by percussion at the 15th Annual Evening of International Poetry Performances on April 28, 7:00 pm, at the Brookdale Community College Student Life Center, Navesink, NJ. If you are in the neighborhood, stop in and listen to her read!
 
For Our Soldiers
By Elaine Olaoye

Blow trumpets blow
Sound drums sound
For our soldiers who are living
For our soldiers who have passed away.

Blow trumpets blow
Sound drums sound,
Bless, strengthen our soldiers
America’s Heroes of heroes
Tested on our battlegrounds
Men and women guided by valor, vision, selflessness
Who live the consequences of these commitments
Not just where wars are found but back home while doing their daily rounds.

Blow trumpets blow
Sound drums sound
Awaken in citizens whose freedoms are protected
A quality of gratitude that helps,
That heals, the many different wounds our soldiers suffer,
Our soldiers feel … long after they leave
The dangers and the horrors of the battlefields.

“Millions of
Eyelids in
New York
Blink, tear
As hate’s 
Venom
Spreads its
Destructive
Wings and
Devours the
Towers
Death and 
Destruction
Pour down
From the air,
The innocent
Air. Travelers
the innocent
Forced kami-
kaze acccom-
plices, create
A hell hotter
Than Dante’s
Inferno in
Seconds
Cremating
Thousands
Of innoncents
Vaporizing
Twin steel
skyscrapers
Into a cloud
Of unbelievable
Ash. Mankind
Achieves all it
Technological
Dreams but 
Never peace.”*

Blow trumpets blow
Sound drums sound
One era has ended, and another begun
Presidents, poets, orators have come and gone
Yet in so many corners of our globe
Battles continue, soldiers are called so often to fight
Are wars ever really won? Gun shots thundering, explosives
Bursting … in torrents, in successive waves
Creating so many tombs and so many millions of untimely graves.

Blow trumpets blow
Sound drums sound
Whenever, wherever strife insists with death to meet …
Help us to remember the tremendous physical and psychological feats
Of soldiers here and those afar
The unbearable and additional burdens we force on them while
We focus on what color should be
Our next dress or car.
Help us to pause long enough to realize that
We can never fathom, much more repay
Their gift to us,
At a very dear price, that for many
Still requires daily sacrifice.

But we can here, today,
Collectively say
With humble hearts and deepest gratitude:
We salute you
We love you
And we wish you and yours
The peace, the wealth, the goodness
You have protected for our country
By your faith 
And your deeds.

*From Of Twin Towers in Passions of the Soul, NorthWest Publishers, 2008



30 Responses to “For Our Soldiers”

  1. I don’t know who wins during wars. In the past you could tell because some one call they surrender and you knew they were defeated. How can we tell if a religious ideology has been defeated These wars our country have been in have no clear signs of letting up. Who wins in these types of war. My heart goes out to our soldiers they are the best and the bravest

  2. bobbie troy says:

    Nice tribute, Elaine.

  3. Paul Lidondici says:

    The support for the soldiers of today is of the upmost importance in ways we cannot understand. In WW II we had unyielding support for our troops in the news, movies, on campuses as well as everyone pitching in at home (i.e. “Rosie the Riveter”). It’s this kind of support that helps win wars and gets out troops home as quickly as possible. This support was forgotten in the time of the Vietnam War; a time when our streets were overflowing with protest and our campuses were filled with violence.

    It is documented in a 1985 interview that “the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) leader, General Giap, said there were two times he was prepared to surrender to the United States. In 1968 the NVA launched the TET Offensive, 75% of the NVA was killed or wounded. General Giap realized he could not win the war and was prepared to surrender…”

    “In 1972, the US initiated a bombing campaign against N. Vietnam. Factories and morale of the NVA were broken.” As he stated in the interview, General Giap was about to surrender both times. However, both times he read news accounts of “US public protests on campuses and marches in the streets in opposition to the war. The unrest in America gave him the resolve to stick to his strategy; just hold on and America will defeat herself.” He obviously did not surrender, “but simply hung on.”
    In this interview General Giap showed how important American support was to his cause. “He called our newspapers and university campuses his ‘Fifth Column’ and said they accomplished more than his own army.” If the news and protests on campuses and streets were nonexistent maybe Vietnam War would have ended much earlier and over hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops would have been spared. (October 28, 2005 posted by John Allen)

    Today we have much more support for our troops; possibly NOT the cause but our troops nonetheless.

    Returning Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Chris Bain wrote – “You know what was really amazing? The people who said, ‘Chris, you know, I don’t support the cause, but no matter what the cause, I’m always going to support the troops…’

    We must always keep in mind that what we say and how we act all have consequences that we may never be aware. It is poem like this that that show our compassion, gratitude and overall support.

    “We must learn from history. If we don’t, we are condemned to repeat it.” The words of President John F. Kennedy are as relevant today as they were then.

  4. Jade says:

    This was a very nice tribute to those who have served our country, both living and passed. The part about September 11th really describes just how America felt on that fateful day. And perhaps no war is really “won” but this is a nice “Thank You, Soldiers” for going out there and fighting for your country.

  5. Thomas DiOrio says:

    Very well stated. Though many support troops and appreciate their sacrifice, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many individuals that do not. I say I’ve had the pleasure because deep down I know (and depending on my mood at the time may point out) the fact that in many countries around the world, open criticism of the government or its military is grounds for execution, no due process, no freedom of speech, no fair trial by juror. That is what inspires me to be cordial in those types of confrontations. Without the sacrifice of those that were before me and those who will follow, we could very well have become a nation like that. Our country was built upon the principal that people should rule themselves which many people take for granted, or don’t even truly understand. When you are in charge the top priorities, in no particular order, are welfare, accountability, and serving a purpose. The problem today is that those things have been distorted; we all feel we are entitled to something and fight each other (internally and internationally) for what we haven’t earned but feel is our birthright. We demand that people pay for their wrongdoings but never hold ourselves accountable for our own faults. And finally, we have forgotten what it was like to serve a purpose for the greater good, back when it took a village to raise a child, and now children get left behind in our own quest to get ahead. Perhaps Freud would agree that subconsciously we view our children as future competition in life and want to maintain an advantage. If we all did something to leave our children better off than ourselves things wouldn’t have gotten worse over the years. That’s what I think this poem inspires.

  6. Elaine Olaoye says:

    Very sensitive and insightful response. These are big and important questions which need to be asked but to whom there are no easy answers. Very thoughtful and appreciated.

  7. Elaine Olaoye says:

    Thank you.

  8. Very nuanced and knowledgeable regarding the trends and importance of support for our troops. I had a friend who was blind when he returned from the Vietnam War but regained his sight partially after some months., However, he was told he would loose it again, this time forever, before his death.
    He was one of the most motivated and vivacious persons I have ever known, never asking for pity but excited about every minute he was given to live life. But when he told me about the depth of the pain he felt when pelted with scorn and disdain after returning from the Vietnam War, I understood a little of how painful this rejection or isolation must be to individual soldiers and how much we can do just by expressing our appreciation to them as often as we are given that privilege. This memory helped to motivate the writing of this poem.

  9. What a great reminder of so many of the things we take for granted! What a generous snd temperate spirit displayed! What a great Lance Corporal DiOrio! What a humbling experience to see the depth and wisdom of those who serve! I am moved to be part of a communication that elicits these thoughts and challenges from one who has served his country. I am further humbled by the generosity that goes on to permit himself to entertain possible psychological hypotheses as to the reasons for the behavior of some people today in stead of judging them. I salute you once more.

  10. Sensitive response, Jade. Thank you.

  11. What a great reminder of so many of the things we take for granted! What a generous snd temperate spirit displayed! What a great Lance Corporal DiOrio! What a humbling experience to see the depth and wisdom of those who serve! I am moved to be part of a communication that elicits these thoughts and challenges from one who has served his country. I am further humbled by the generosity that goes on to permit himself to entertain possible psychological hypotheses as to the reasons for the behavior of some people today in stead of judging them. I salute you once more.

  12. Mary Agee says:

    This is such a beautiful poem. It is very touching. I think everybody really needs to stop taking the little things so serious and look at the big picture. Look at all these brave soldiers fighting and losing their lives to protect us. I would like to give a big thanks to all the soldiers and the ones we lost. You are all appreciated.

  13. Sensitive response, Mary. I am glad the piece moved you to express your appreciation also.

  14. Antonio Rivera says:

    In these current times, particularly with recent wars that America has fought – from the Gulf War to the Twin Tower attacks on 9/11 – our freedom is always tested. And, with the recent attempted bombing in New York City this past weekend, it gives us true sentiment in understanding the importance of the freedom, protection and trust that our troops provide us as American citizens. This poem truly emulates that – through not only its reality, but through its true sense of how the soldiers dealt with (and are still dealing with) emotions on a daily basis.

    In “For Our Soldiers,” what is illustrated is the remnance of many of the sights, sounds and psychological thoughts that can occur – things that become a normalized daily routine as soldiers fight in a war. Classical and operant conditioning in this case can operate in many ways. For instance, what comes naturally to a soldier even though they deal with “the dangers and the horrors of the battlefields” even after they come home – is that they also internalize the human condition – our feelings of being heroes – “men and women guided by valor, vision and selflessness.” The soldiers learn to associate the reason for fighting with the pleasure of protecting our country. Though this is the case, their vulnerabilities of being on the battleground is always with them – even as civilians we may treat them with kindness and generosity for the sacrifice they have made for us, but that doesn’t stop “the unbearable and additional burdens we force on them” while we focus on superficial thoughts.

    In operant conditioning, the role of stimulus-response training takes place while soldiers are in war. Although soldiers may “feel … long after they leave the dangers and the horrors of the battlefields,” and hear “gun shots thundering, explosives bursting … in torrents, in successive waves,” they are “guided by valor, vision, selflessness.” In this way, soldiers understand that there is a rewarding response in understanding that they need to fight (which may unfortunately lead to killing or wounding the enemy) in order to accomplish their goal of protecting and staying alive.

    Many of these questions of how soldiers cope post-war seems to bring up the psychological issues that they deal with and disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In my opinion, the treatment and “cure” for PTSD is still being researched as it’s not clear as to how to treat these soldiers for their psychological issues. Thus, I feel it is clear that taking on the emotional burden of being a civilian and trying to “treat” and help soldiers cope after war with their emotional and psychological issues is a huge undertaking – something that I’m sure can be emotionally draining, though I can only speak as an outsider.

    Through the words of “For Our Soldiers” and deepest gratitude and support we have for those who sacrifice for us – it is that emotional bond as American citizens that we have and need to co

  15. Timely link of the poem to a very current event! Thank heavens it did not lead to a scene like that described in the fourth stsnza of the poem, 9/11.

    Humble but insightful understanding and respect for the complex issues of war and the motives and morals of soldiers.

    Excellent application of psychological concepts to understanding the uncontrollable processes that can trap our soldiers into long term psychological struggles that sometimes lead to PTSD.

    Excellent connections made to the poem.

    Great response, Antonio!

  16. Antonio Rivera says:

    My apologies, my whole comment did not show up – here is my last paragraph re-pasted below for posting!

    Through the words of “For Our Soldiers” and deepest gratitude and support we have for those who sacrifice for us – it is that emotional bond as American citizens that we have and need to continue to emulate. This is what is of utmost importance through the emotional words of “For Our Soldiers” and can help in decreasing the classical and operant conditioning that soldiers face – not only on the battlefield, but the techniques and training that occurred during training to prepare them for the violent war.

  17. Alfonso Comello says:

    To me, this poem addressed a common misconception by society. Soldiers are heroes for defending our country and promoting peace, but this is not just when they come home from war. This is not just when they are carrying a gun or wearing the uniform. They are soldiers in everyday life. They have sacrificed their own lives for us. Soldiers are not just those who go off to war and battle, but our fire fighters, police, and ems men and women. They have to fight and battle on our own turf, every day, protecting us and saying lives. They need to be honored and respected when on/in duty and not. When we see a man or woman in uniform, we automatically see their importance, but we need to recoginze the fact that we shouldn’t just think of them during those times, but even when they are not visible. We need to remember that there are people in the world who are constantly working to keep us safe, and for that we should be completely grateful.

  18. kimberly hurd says:

    This poem is a beautiful recognition to many of the involvments to soldiers. When i heard “blow trumpets blow , sound drums sound” I thought of the emotionless faces I have seen as a mititary wife, knowing there is more experience and pain behind them then known.If more people would take that time to think of a veteran’s sacrafices more often, it would be humbling to the everyday selfishness. Having dedicated poems shows the support to these troops that they truely need. I feel for all soldiers and their family’s. I totally respect those who take the time to make such poems and other arts to dedicate and in rememberance of. Great poem!

  19. Allison Manziano says:

    I’m overwhelmed with emotion after reading this poem. I’m well aware of the strengths that our soldiers carry on the battlefield but I never stopped to realize how much their battlefield is incorporated into their daily life.
    I’ve always viewed men like Gill and Tom as warriors. Men who put their lives and their fears behind to protect myself and everyone else. After reading this poem I was reminded that a soldier is not always just a soldier. He is also a man or woman, a father or mother, a brother or sister, a son or daughter. He has a family and a home just like everyone else. This reminder that he wakes up in the morning with so much more courage and strength then I could ever muster has inspired even more admiration inside of me. While I carry on living my mundane life of “what color should be my next dress or car” there are brave men out there fighting for me to own the right to wear that dress or to drive that car. Without these men there would be no freedom, no protection, no openness for me to live my life however I choose. This poem has reminded me just how precious life is and just how much some people are giving up in order to fight for me to have one.

  20. Emily Alaia says:

    I can not express the amount of emotion I felt reading this poem. It actually brought a tear to my eye. Coming from a family with many members who served in the military over the years this made me feel very proud. My grandfather served in the Air Force in WWII. My uncle served in the Army in Vietnam and the things that those soldiers had to endure not only during the war but AFTER coming home from the people they were trying to protect was dispicable. I think that goes on with the “coming home for their daily rounds”. My cousin also served in Iraq for for the Marines for a year while he missed his first child’s birth serving our country ensuring we are safe. There really is no winning for soldiers the war is never over for them. Soldiers give up so much that we take for granted on a daily basis (while we focus on what color should be our next dress or car) and I think that this poem depicts that beautifully and makes me proud to be an American. They truly are my heroes. This was a lovely tribute to our men (and women) in uniform Dr. O. Thank you!

  21. A very sensitive snd caring charge to each of us. An important articulation of the emotional tenure of the poem and very well worth adding to the previous insights offered.

  22. Excellent focus on the broad category of people who serve to protect our lives and freedoms every day. Equally good encouragement to us to express deep and frequent appreciation to these persons not only as a tribute to them but also as respecting our common humanity as well.

  23. Very sensitive response. Thanks for the encouragement to all of us to express ourselves to soldiers and veterans in ways that not only help them to heal but which can enrich our life and values also.

  24. Beautiful emotional response. Beautiful growth right before our very eyes! Indeed it is a big price that they pay and it is for many a lifetime of varying burdens and struggles. Thanks for sharing your moment of realization and encouraging us to wake up and treasure more so much that we have and take for granted.

  25. Thanks for sharing your family’s great traditon and commitment to service with us. I am so happy that you were able to feel proud of their contributions because families also serve through the countless unsung sacrifices that include loneliness, carrying on life with fears of major loss, explaining absences to children, etc. not to talk about caring for the psychologically and physically wounded, ans so on. Through you I say thanks to all the families of those who serve. They also deserve recognition. Thanks Emily for helping me make this important acknowledgement.

  26. Carmen Sch says:

    I would like to foremost mention that this is my first time attending the ‘International Psychology and Poetry Performance’ event and I witness a plethora of positive emotions and patriotic appreciation for our troops that were honored that evening. The evening was an inviting event for me filled with artistic exchanged of poems and drama performance of the Stanford Prison Experiment.
    I was fascinated to learn about Dr. Phillip Zimbardo new project: ‘The heroic Imagination Project’ as well of his new book titled” The Lucifer Effect’ via Skype Video conferencing. I find him to be a person of endless energy in promoting and educating others of moral goodness in society. “Bravo” and much applause to his efforts. I first learned about him in psychology class and I have been reading about him ever since. I am much grateful to my Prof. Dr. Elaine Olaoye for her tenacity to share her positive poems and influence her students to seek higher pursuits in themselves. Thank you.
    The poem written by Dr. Elaine Olaoye conjures robust feelings of thankfulness and respect for those veterans who as Dr. Zimbardo would say; acted on unselfish bravery to secure a better world for many. The poem was accompanied with drum rolls that elevated the atmosphere to a sense of excitement and the most heartfelt finale of all was our “National Anthem” that paved the way for a great tribute to our veterans and the solders that were present.
    In times past a veteran or soldier were not given the honor they so dutifully deserved which caused them to spiral downward into severe depression and become maladjusted to the civilian way of living which has less regimented rules than how they were emotionally trained and conditioned to become ruthless and have a combatant attack mode .
    It was wonderful witnessing the gratitude the soldiers felt when they were being honored. I was privileged to be a part a witness of this.

  27. Thanks Carmen, for putting this poem into its context. It was written for inspired by Dr. Phillip Zimbardo’s concept of the Heroic Imagination. His website is heroicimagination.org. Dr. Zimbardo’s concept invites and inspires us to identify and celebrate “everyday heroes” . Until I was struck by that, soldiers taking my psychology class, lacked significance! After I got it, they zoomed into focus, a critical category of heroes!!! So I had an emotional response expressed in the poem that has lead to this outpouring of thought and emotion focused on our soldiers and veterans. Thanks sooo much for joining in this blog of thanksgiving
    that makes all feel better about ourselves. Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem proceeds from which go to the victims of 9/11 did indeed also help to bring the evening to an appropriate emotional climax.

  28. Lauren C. says:

    The topic of war is a very controversial and passionate topic. The emotions and feelings that soldiers go through are not like anything else anyone can relate to. Some people may wonder, what can make a person intentionally kill another human being?

    The answer is simple. It is in large part to operant and classical conditioning. For operant conditioning, the soldiers are trained to know how to defend themselves and kill if need be. They are given weapons, and they are at the forefront of death. Operant conditioning teaches soldiers how to kill; but for some classical conditioning teaches people how to enjoy it.

    I recently came across an interesting passage on killogy.com that further demonstrates this point of view:

    “The Japanese were masters at using classical conditioning with their soldiers. Early in World War II, Chinese prisoners were placed in a ditch on their knees with their hands bound behind them. And one by one, a select few Japanese soldiers would go into the ditch and bayonet ‘their’ prisoner to death. This is a horrific way to kill another human being. Up on the bank, countless other young soldiers would cheer them on in their violence. Comparatively few soldiers actually killed in these situations, but by making the others watch and cheer, the Japanese were able to use these kinds of atrocities to classically condition a very large audience to associate pleasure with human death and suffering. Immediately afterwards, the soldiers who had been spectators were treated to sake, the best meal they had had in months, and so-called comfort girls. The result? They learned to associate committing violent acts with pleasure.”

    The Japanese clearly came to associate killing with pleasure and rewards. They would go out of their way to kill even the innocent. In the US, this is often the case in the media. For example, every time a child plays a violent video game, he is learning the same conditioned reflex – that violence and murder are okay. As we have read in Unit III, studies have shown a correlation between violence on TV and violence in the real world – including 9/11 and the Columbine shootings.

    This topic can be heavily debated for many, many hours. I greatly enjoyed the poem, and just wanted to share some initial thoughts.

  29. This is a powerful example of an application of classical and operant conditioning that is not often focused on or discussed. The connection to current media scenarios and video games is not unimportant and also greatly overlooked even though the American Psychological Association has gone on record as having evidence that these exposures do lead to decreased sensitivity… Good explanation of the tranformational process soldiers go through using psychological principles.

  30. Brittny Orr says:

    This is a very beautiful, and insightful poem. For all our men and women who serve are country I thank you, and keep you in my prayers. Lets never forget for what they do for our country. Our soldiers live forever in our hearts, mind, spirit. The poem makes you really stop and think what our soldiers do to serve our country.I stand her, with my head up reaching to the sky never looking down or doubting myself about whats going to happen next. You should think positive and never give up your dreams. For all our soldiers out there I thank you for all you done. Thank you. Love. Happiness

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