Shipping Out Poem by Joseph Anderson

Another station soon to be
Left, and other quarters.
Let us drink a hearty draught
To her and her memory.

Here we lived and here we worked
And here we played our little parts,
Now as the curtain falls, our hearts
Rebel at thoughts of duty shirked

And revel in the memory of
The many tasks that were performed,
The friendships that were made and warmed
In the sunlight of a love.

A love of youth, of play and life,
Working together toward an end;
Now our work is done, we wend
Our journey to the distant strife.

One more station lost to time,
One more milestone on our path;
We look for what the future hath
For us, in our new home, and I'm

Looking back with mingled joy
And sorrow, at the leaving of
A 'Bunch of Joes' I learned to love
As brothers, (I'm an only boy.

I leave behind a part of me,
So many comrades leave I here;
And sometime in my memory
I'll live again this pleasant year.

For now, farewell yon home of mine,
I've other homes on down the line.

Written in 1944, when I was a member of
the U.S. Air Forces. I think it speaks of
the esprit de corps and camaraderie which
still exists with our current veterans.