HITCH IN HELL-poem from a friend
Julie,
My uncle, Marvin Fisher, was drafted into WWII at the ripe old age of 35 and spent his hitch in the Pacific theater.............mainly the Phillipines and New Guinea. I just found this and really thought it was neat. Wanted to share it with you.
I was looking through the box of things from U. Marvin's and came across this much folded, worn and yellowed paper. Am sure from the looks that it was carried in his wallet. That 18 months he spent in New Guinea is probably well characterized by this poem.
Hitch in Hell
I am sitting here and thinking of
The things I've left behind,,
And I'd hate to put on paper
What is running through my mind.
We have dug many ditches
And cleaned a million miles of ground.
A neater place this side of Hell
Is waiting to be found.
There is one consolation, so gather while I tell,
When we die we'll go to heaven
For we've done our hitch in Hell.
We have built many kitchens
For the cooks to stew our beans.
We have stood a million guard mounts,
And cleared the camp's latrines,
We have washed a million mess-kits,
And peeled a million spuds.
Rolled a hundred blanket rolls
And washed the Captain's duds.
The number of parades stood is very hard to tell,
But there are no parades in heaven
And we've done our hitch in Hell.
We've killed a million ants and bugs
That cry out for our eats,
And shook a million centipedes out of your dirty sheets.
We have marched a million miles
And made a thousand camps,
Have picked Puerta Rican cactus
From the seat of our khaki pants.
But when our work on earth is done,
Our friends behind we'll tell
When we die we'll go to heaven
For we have done our hitch in Hell.
When the final taps are sounded
And we lay away our earthly cares,
We will do our greatest parade
When we climb those golden stairs.
The Angels will welcome us
And the harps will start to play.
We will draw a million canteen checks
And spend them all in a day.
When then we'll hear St. Peter
Tell us proudly with a yell,
Take a front seat, you boys from New Guinea
For you've done your hitch in Hell.
This is very neatly and correctly typed but no author is credited.
My uncle, Marvin Fisher, was drafted into WWII at the ripe old age of 35 and spent his hitch in the Pacific theater.............mainly the Phillipines and New Guinea. I just found this and really thought it was neat. Wanted to share it with you.
I was looking through the box of things from U. Marvin's and came across this much folded, worn and yellowed paper. Am sure from the looks that it was carried in his wallet. That 18 months he spent in New Guinea is probably well characterized by this poem.
Hitch in Hell
I am sitting here and thinking of
The things I've left behind,,
And I'd hate to put on paper
What is running through my mind.
We have dug many ditches
And cleaned a million miles of ground.
A neater place this side of Hell
Is waiting to be found.
There is one consolation, so gather while I tell,
When we die we'll go to heaven
For we've done our hitch in Hell.
We have built many kitchens
For the cooks to stew our beans.
We have stood a million guard mounts,
And cleared the camp's latrines,
We have washed a million mess-kits,
And peeled a million spuds.
Rolled a hundred blanket rolls
And washed the Captain's duds.
The number of parades stood is very hard to tell,
But there are no parades in heaven
And we've done our hitch in Hell.
We've killed a million ants and bugs
That cry out for our eats,
And shook a million centipedes out of your dirty sheets.
We have marched a million miles
And made a thousand camps,
Have picked Puerta Rican cactus
From the seat of our khaki pants.
But when our work on earth is done,
Our friends behind we'll tell
When we die we'll go to heaven
For we have done our hitch in Hell.
When the final taps are sounded
And we lay away our earthly cares,
We will do our greatest parade
When we climb those golden stairs.
The Angels will welcome us
And the harps will start to play.
We will draw a million canteen checks
And spend them all in a day.
When then we'll hear St. Peter
Tell us proudly with a yell,
Take a front seat, you boys from New Guinea
For you've done your hitch in Hell.
This is very neatly and correctly typed but no author is credited.
posted by Jewels1 at Wednesday, June 14, 2006
3 Comments:
I am not sure about it, but there WAS a General Gates-who was subsequently court-marshalled for reasons I cannot remember! Gates being my last name(I am unmarried.)
I was sent the poem by a dear friend who's uncle served in the Korean War, as did my own father.
Jewels
I found the same poem typed by type writer in one of my great grand uncle's letters sent back home. he also served in new guinea and the Philippines, and is now in his nineties. his name is Ernest carbone and it would be interesting if they served together, and all came up with it one night.
I found a hand-written copy of the same poem, with some minor differences, in my mom's stuff. Dad (Albert Boggs) served in New Guinea during WWII and sent it to her. Written on very thin, yellowed paper and entitled "HITCH IN HELL (Dedicated to the Yanks and Aussies in New Guinea)
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