A
PICTURE, A FLAG, AND A GOLD STAR PIN
SP 4 JOEL C. HATLEY
CO. C, 158th AVN BN
101st Airborne Div
A.P.O. San Francisco,
CA 96383
Written by Ms. Evelyn Laton Hatley
Mother of Joel
That night I kissed my son
Goodbye, and watched his plane soar to the sky.
Little did I know as he held my
hand that soon he'd lie in some strange land.
I still can see his smiling
face, and feel his arms in last embrace.
His quiet voice and tender
touch, his loving ways all meant so much.
He said, “Mother please
don’t cry tonight” I said, 'I won't" I promised with throat so tight.
I held him close; I
loved him so, and it hurt so much to see him go.
I'll be all right and I
luv ya'11, were his last words going down the hall.
He waved goodbye going
to the plane, and suddenly I felt so strange.
I thought - he's going
where he's never been, tho 'Nam was his destination again.
I didn't know why -
couldn't understand - but "Heaven" flashed through my mind then.
I felt we had really
said goodbye, and he truly was gone to the sky.
I felt strange peace and
calm within, and I felt I'd never see him again.
I watched his plane go
out of sight, as he was lost in the still, dark night.
I love my son. Why must
he go? My heart cried out, now it ached so.
He went to “Nam”, but I
soon learned, he really was lost, never to return.
MISSING IN ACTI0N...the
telegram read, but inside I knew our Joel was dead.
He'd been shot down, the
helicopter lost ... Dear Lord! My son! Oh, what a cost!
And then we wait and wait and
pray, and hope we'll hear that he's OK.
The time was short, tho
it seemed long. The grief was great but love was strong.
Each day seemed like a
million years, as time was washed away with tears.
At last word came, and
what I knew within my heart, was finally true.
KILLED IN ACTION.... This telegram
read, crashed in flames ... no survivors it said.
KILLED…NOT MISSING NOW it read,
My Joel! My Joel! Our Joel was dead!
Oh Lord! Oh Lord! Oh no, no
please! And then I fell on bended knee.
Dear God! I cried in unbelief, my
heart exploded then in grief.
The tears then like a river did
flow, our Joel! Oh Lord! What a way to go!
In crushed remembrance of
his love, I bowed my head to God above;
to thank Him for that life so
sweet, and prayed someday again we’d meet.
I felt his hand and tender
touch, his last goodbye all meant so much.
Just then I saw his face, his
smile, and my heart raced across the miles.
To join his heart in that last
breath, to share his fate, to share his death.
To die with him in burning flames,
to leave with me only his name.
There's no remains, no grave to
be, nothing except sweet memories.
A picture of him is left
instead, and a folded flag to show he's dead.
Always I’ll look at the smiling
face, of the picture I hold here in this place.
Always I'll hold in grief and
strife, this flag as if it were my life.
Always a Gold Star Pin
I'll wear, in memory of a life so sweet and fair.
A Picture, A Flag, and
a Gold Star Pin, I'll always hold in the place of him.
Written by Ms. Evelyn
Laton Hatley