[George Lander]

HALLOWED GROUNDS
by: Lisha Lander Hylton, June 2005

"As I walk down the green, sloping hills of Virginia
On the Hallowed Grounds of our Heroes from war;
In the fields that were home to an old Southern General
Rest American Soldiers, in the peace they died for

CHORUS:
They gave their lives for our freedom , in America's name
Our Heroes are gone, but their memories remain
God has called them to His Kingdom, now they rest in Honored Glory
from these Hallowed Grounds we remember their story.

As the wind softly blows through the trees on the hillsides
Like a voice from the past, they whisper to me
"As He died to make men holy. let us live and die to make men free."

Tell me, how many wars will it take 'till we learn
The treasures of freedom, the final AMEN?
Blowing in the breeze is the answer to peace
Among the graves of these proud countrymen

As the sad, mourning cry of a whippoorwill fades
I see in the distance a tomb and a guard
"Here Rests In Honored Glory, An American Soldier
Known But To God"

Entombed in the crypts and so often forgotten
On eagles bold wings their souls will endure
In war after war, their bodies lay shattered
Resting now in The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

In your own native land lies your dust in the soil
It's fitting for your worthy grave
The earth claims from wars her most sacred souls
The ashes of our courage and our brave

Now live eternal you Saints of our wars
Dear as the blood that you willingly gave
No footstep shall tread on this reverent sod
The heritage of our soldier's holy grave"

And to those who are lost and whose lives are uncertain
In one final prayer we silently make
That their valor and virtue for our country at war
Be our hope for their glorious fate

To those living today giving lives for our freedom
As they fight for The Land of the Free
We pray to Our Lord, our Savior and Father
May God shed His loving Grace upon Thee

As I gaze toward the sunset, as twilight creeps in
Over thousands of graves in the moon's early light
Like fingers caressing, the heart of my soul
I feel their voices whisper softly in the night

Pleading:"Let there be peace on earth for mankind
God, give us the strength, give our world unity
Let the bells toll for freedom, let the stars and stripes fly...
In the land of the brave and the home of the free"

"Dedicated to the men and women who are presently fighting for our country's freedom, to those who have died defending our cause and those who have bravely fought for American freedom and are missing in action; and to my Dad, who taught me to appreciate my country and honor those who have fought so bravely to defend her. I love you Dad!"

My daughter, Lisha, wrote this poem after visiting Arlington National Cemetery and it appears on Arlington's web site.