Rough Men


“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men

stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” George Orwell



With a nod to the Mudville Gazette for the quote



There’s a character trait that’s decided by fate

Comes “sadly” to many, far too faint, far too late.

They won’t face the aggressor, stand up to his ire

They have not the will to fight his fire with fire.

So they bend over backwards to see all sides as fair,

Till they’re faced with dragon breath fire in their hair.

Like our brethren in France, who’d know better than we,

Yet seem never to learn, seem doomed never to see.



Yes, it seems there are some who’re determined by fate,

To possess not the courage to step up to the plate,

Who shrink from all threat because nothing’s worth war.

But how can they know lest they’ve been there before?

Thank God some have courage, the will, yes, the grace,

To stand for the shirkers, stand strong in their place.

Thank God we have stalwarts who’ll stand for us all,

Who will rise to the challenge at their nation’s call.



The faint-hearted, who fear, whose reaction is flight,

Have no comprehension of those who will fight.

To hide their own trepidation they attempt to demean

The rough men, who defend them, as barbaric, obscene.

Yet these rough men stand ready, hard weapons to hand,

To put placaters behind them, draw a line in the sand,

To preserve for the peaceniks what they won’t defend,

So their own unearned freedom won’t perish, won’t end.



To appeasers, rough men are coarse government tools.

To rough men, appeasers are dumb delusional fools.



Russ Vaughn

2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment

101st Airborne Division

Vietnam 65-66
Iraq War Today