The Soldier Poem by George L. Skypeck, as seen at the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Madison, Indiana. Skypeck is a decorated disabled Vietnam veteran, awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze star among numerous other metals. He rose from private to captain during his service, and after the war became a well known artist. “I was that which others did notwant to be.I went where others feared to go,and did what others failed to do.I asked nothing from those who gavenothing, and reluctantly accepted thethought of eternal loneliness …should I fail.I have seen the face of terror; feltthe stinging cold of fear; and enjoyedthe sweet taste of a moment’s love.I have cried, pained, and hoped …but most of all, I have lived times otherswould say were best forgotten.At least someday I will be able to saythat I was proud of what I was … a soldier.” -George L. Skypeck