For Jeremiah Purdie: Reaching Out

A poem remembering Jeremiah Purdie (1931 - 2005).

The battle for Hill 484. Nui Cay Ridge, South Vietnam, October 1966. Head bandaged and in shock after his gun emplacement was shelled, U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie is brought to an evacuation post and instinctively reaches out to a fellow Marine in the mud. I thought it ironic that Purdie had travelled thousands of miles to help free the South Vietnamese when back home, the Civil Rights Movement was still fighting injustice.

Photograph by Larry Burrows.

Perhaps one of the greatest photojournalists of all time, Burrows covered the Vietnam War from its beginning, a conflict that would ultimately take his life. To find out more, check out his stunning book 'Vietnam'.

Reaching Out

Is that you Elvis, crucified in the mud?
Shouldn't you be relaxing
on the lawn at Graceland,
feted and adored?

In thirty minutes, we'll be off the coast:
you and I are going home.
You to the starched white lap of luxury
eating the fruit we were sent here to grow

while I return to the tenement's bleak stairs,
the rank of nigger,
my freedom to sit where I like on the bus
enshrined in Law
.
But here, on the shattered crest of this windy ridge,
you and I have found equality:
this mud sticks to the soles of our blue suede shoes
and makes us both a few inches taller.

© PoetryAgainstWar 2009

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[TheNightOwl1981]

i saw this picture in Life magazine online and i don´t know why, but i googled the name of this man Jeremiah Purdie... sad that he died in 2005, hope he got the chance to live a good life and to love and be loved...

[PoetryAgainstWar]

@TheNightOwl1981 A beautiful sentiment - I hope so too. Thanks for the comment.

[PoetryAgainstWar]

This poem tries to explore the situation of Jeremiah Purdie who, having been sent thousands of miles to help safeguard 'freedom', was only just beginning to enjoy the fruit of democracy and liberty in his own country, thanks to Rosa Parks and others.

[lmorris1906]

Deacon Purdie passed away May 5, 2005 in Fayetteville, NC I assisted him in writing his life story; "The Journey That Brought Me to Glory". His wife still reside in Fayetteville, NC RIP Gunnery SGT.

[AndyBJ]

Wow, I really missed a lot when I viewed this photo. Great poem, opens the mind.