Never Lost

Patton, based on personal experience, believed in reincarnation – especially for warriors (click for the full four-page poem):

THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY

by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

Through the travail of the ages,
Midst the pomp and toil of war,
Have I fought and strove and perished
Countless times upon this star.

In the form of many people
In all panoplies of time
Have I seen the luring vision
Of the Victory Maid, sublime.

I have battled for fresh mammoth,
I have warred for pastures new,
I have listed to the whispers
When the race trek instinct grew…

I have sinned and I have suffered,
Played the hero and the knave;
Fought for belly, shame, or country,
And for each have found a grave.

I cannot name my battles
For the visions are not clear,
Yet, I see the twisted faces
And I feel the rending spear…

So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me.

And I see not in my blindness
What the objects were I wrought,
But as God rules o’er our bickerings
It was through His will I fought.

So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.

Today is about all those who served. It is tinged with a reflexive sadness when thinking about those lost – even I feel it momentarily without thinking. But they are not lost. They have merely moved on to whatever the next phase of this great adventure is. Some may come back, some may move on, I really don’t know the exact details, or the why or the how, of who comes back and who moves on, but I know it doesn’t end here. I believe in this as much as I believe that the stories of the evil who have seen hell are real.

The Creator loves greatness, and He never lets it go to waste. The loved ones lost, and the great ones who sacrificed for us are out there, somewhere, and we will see them again. They are probably watching right now. Never feel bad for them, and if you catch yourself doing it, know they are probably out there shaking their head that you aren’t uplifted by the truth.

God is good.