They Will Not be Forgotten
We salute our comrades , living and dead.
Marines from present to past.
Now one by one these warriors fall,
No longer their shadows cast.
From carrier decks and from the soil
Of foreign lands they flew,
The planes maintained around the clock
By a proud, determined crew.
Unheralded men wiped sweat from their brows
As they tended the battered planes,
Getting them ready to strike from the air
Seeking out targets again.
Brothers together in fraternal team,
Drawn closer even more
In a proud and strong fraternity -
Fraternity of the Corps.
Someday, when the last survivor falls,
From the ranks of World War Two,
Will the world remember the squadron names
Or the names of the planes they flew?
Oh yes, so long as a single marine
Still lives remembered they'll be.
The names and deeds will be preserved
In the annals of history.
The stories generations pass along
Will be told and then retold
About exploits of Marine Corps troops
And the pilots with wings of gold.