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Veterans Day 1990 at Arlington 
By Susan Winters

I've been there again....
to that beautiful, sad place that is you home now.
Under a small red maple is the stone so like all the others.
The thousands that line the sloping hills
of this your resting place called ARLINGTON.
This stone is different though, because it bears YOUR name, my son,
the name I gave you when you were born,
the name that will be here forever.

No one knows,
except for the thousands of mothers throughout time
that have carried this pain
and this pride there in that place..

I'm drawn to this spot! Like a pilgrimage I make my long trips
to spend a few moments in tears with you.

You know when I'm there!
I can feel it. I awake each morning
and hope that reality is just a dream.
But my pain is too real,
my tears too warm,
as they run down my cheeks.

This is the reality!
This is my future!
To walk among the identical pieces of marble
until I find that special one.
It's off the path of the thousands of people
who look with awe at the beauty,
the tranquility, the sameness.
They are untouched by the names.

This is a special stone son,
because it belongs to you. 
Because of this, it belongs to me too.
 
Written in loving memory of Sergeant Franklin Dennis Winters by his mother.

May we never forget the sacrifices made by our military forces, whether in be in war or in peace.