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“Normandy”

by Nicholas Stamates

_

–

Britannia’s channel they sailed over,
through her unforgiving waters.

Aeolus’ wind they passed through, too,
for his rage calmed right on queue.

For love of man and God above,
they stormed the beaches marred in blood.

Utah to Omaha they fought through,
for Gold and Sword they came too.

A man from Kansas worried away,
while God’s arrows were away.

He came through that fateful day,
weary of war and loved by man.

For a Desert Fox his time came near,
for his honor was what he held most dear.

The war turned that faithful day,
the coward’s time had its final days.

For those who lived the day of days,
the world would never be the same.

For as the time ticked away,
the crimson sand withered away.

For reunions came few and few,
as brothers returned to the Elysian plane

As the clocks struck twelve one by one,
Arlington welcomed all who rung.

As the hour grew late,
they kept a date…

To see the crimson beaches fade away,
to see each other fade the same.

Who We Are

Military Experience and the Arts, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose primary mission is to work with veterans and their families to publish short stories, essays, poems, and artwork in our biannual publication, As You Were: The Military Review, periodic editions of Blue Nostalgia: The Journal of Post-Traumatic Growth and others. To the best of our ability, we pair each author or poet that submits work to us with a mentor to work one-on-one to polish their work or learn new skills and techniques.

Our staff is based all over the country and includes college professors, professional authors, veterans’ advocates, and clinicians. As such, most of our services are provided through email and online writing workshops.

All editing, consultations, and workshops are free of charge. Veterans and their families pay nothing for our services, and they never will.

Under our Publications tab, there are more than two dozen volumes of creative work crafted by veterans and their family members as well as a virtual art gallery. Our blog posts feature short pieces that cover a wide range of opinion editorials, literary reviews, and profiles on veteran artists and writers.

Please consider spending some time navigating our site and reading and seeing the fine work of veterans and their families from around the globe.

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