| This poem was submitted by Ralph Holcomb, former member of the 49th Fighter Control Squadron of WWII. He served from 1942 to 1944. It was a tribute to the 49th Pursuit Group while the 49FC was attached to the 49PG, and was presented to the group by Australian ground troops. |
TO THE 49th PURSUIT GROUP (Name later changed to 49th Fighter Group) Ye men who soar through Darwin skys And fear no flying thing. Today we pay you tribute And dip a phantom wing. We've watched you from our gun pits Fly out to meet the foe With the odds so great against you That the bravest alone could go. We've risen from our trenches To cheer you, grim of face Knowing too well the chips were down Praying you'd hold the ace. We've seen you battle through the skys Against fast, better craft Yet drink the cup of victory In deep and well earned draught. Ever out-gunned and out powered Yet you have fought so well, That many a "son of heaven" Has known the fury of hell. We've seen you wrapped in wetted chute Burned and broken of bone Direct your rescuers in their task Pain-wracked --- with never a moan. We've seen you in the mangrove mud Or lifted down from a tree Scared and starved, yet holding on With grim tenacity. We've seen you roam the jungle, Given up for lost Somehow walk out to fly again And never count the cost. Or swim for hours through shark-laned seas, Or fall in a blanket of flame Yet rise from it all to fly again And call it "part of the game". Oh, if the sky and the sea and the back-bush Could whisper the things they've seen, They would shout a saga of courage As never before has been. But we know your every victory, And we know the price you have paid And we've cheered with you and we've mourned with you And we're proud of the score you've made. And wherever brave men's tales we tell And heroes we salute, We'll drink a toast to the men of steel Of the 49th Pursuit. By--- Captain Anthony G. Carroll, Chaplain 102nd SEP (AA) BN CA July 4, 1942 |
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1941 - 1942