Time seems almost to mock those brave men now;

for they are left, and have now grown old.

Yet, still they fight to right old wrongs; of which our children should be told;

Let them learn how they fought, suffered, and died

In lands never theirs, nor the enemy’s they defied:

How they fought in nameless jungle places,

And died at monsoon-lashed jungle bases;

Ever tired and hungry in that searing heat,

Sometimes bloodied and bent, but never beat.

And how now at the Cenotaph still they stand despite their years,

As for fallen comrades they shed many well-hid tears,

And teach them; never were braver men found by far

As those who wear, with pride, the Burma Star