The Falklands Conflict - Poem by a Survivor of the RAF Sir Galahad

The struggle inside
Is a struggle to hide
I feel like running
When I see them burning
Do I run or do I fight
Is this day really that bright?

Out of the smoke comes my mucker
I warned him the stupid ****er
Indisition disappears
Along with all my fears
Seeing him in pain
Hurts deep in my brain
So I do my best
To ease his rest

Then comes another
I was friends with his brother
Dazed and confused with a bloody head
I help him to safety, but think this poor blokes dead

A scream I did hear
From an officer with apparently no fear
But he was there, and I am here
Go inside and help them out
Were the words I heard him shout

As I near the entrance my feelings are mixed
On the smoke my eyes are transfixed
I try to prepare my mind trying to avoid a fright
When out comes this bloke with his back alight
Stand still stand still we shout
as we try to put the flames out

So many coming out
And I have to go in
But an order I'd been given
Surely this is some kind of sin ?

So in I go
What I'll find I do not know
The thick black smoke bellows out
When suddenly I hear a shout

I turn and see a sergeant kneeling on the floor
Guardsman come here and help me with this door
I was acting on impulse and went to his aid
Even though inside I was still afraid

The thought of drowning was still in my head
As I helped to pull this young man from the dead
Then to the stairs I had to go
The ones I had walked up not so long ago

Thick black smoke and a smell of pork
Oh my god!!!! Thats some poor bloke
Screams I can hear
Then again comes the fear

Do I run or do I fight?
This one is going to take all my might
I could not see
six inches in front me

I knew if I went down
Then with the ship I would drown
When to my right
Came the saviour of my plight

A scream for help was something I could not ignore
So I helped him to get to what was left of the door
Thats it thats it theres no more
Were the next words from the fearless major
But the screams of those soon to be dead
Were and will always be ringing in my head

I knelt down on the landing craft floor
I held my muckers hand the one I'd left before
Frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog
Dont let him die please god?

Faster faster I heard myself shout
We have to help my mucker out
As I look around at my comrades
I notice the thousands of tracers above our heads
Like a mass of marigolds planted snugly in their beds

As we near land
I had to let go of my muckers hand
In order for me to prepare
To take him to the medics somewhere over there

Carefully we laid him down onto the ground
I have to go but dont die on me when I'm not around
Myself and another ran back to the landing craft
What was I thinking I must be bloody daft

I knew that some onboard was not yet dead
At that time that was the only thought in my head
So back onboard we both got
But we were not prepared for the next twist in the plot

A second chance I'd been given the guilt began to lift
But the shouts of take cover start another rift
A skyhawk appears
And towards us it steers

The pilots eyes were clear to me
And for one moment thought jump into the sea
But then I opened fire along with the guy's next to me
With all this adrenaline running through my veins I felt like I was about to burst
But instead I let rip with my weapon and began to shout and curse

The CMS who only moment ago was taking pictures of the burning ship
Was curled up in a ball in the corner of the craft and all I could think was you drip

I took orders from people like him because they were older
But soon found out that it takes more than combat gear and rank to make a soldier

As we neared the Sir Galahad
There was only one thought that I had
Would I go down those stairs this time
And try to save some friends of mine
In life a second chance rarely comes along
But by the time we'd boarded I believed this was one

The door we both did try
The screams made me want to cry
But the handle on the door and even the deck of the ship was by know far too hot
Get back onboard shouted the CMS we will give the other side of the ship a shot

We got back on the landing craft
And sailed around the ships aft
As we slowly went through the thick black smoke
I began to feel physically sick and began to choke

I had to kneel on the floor
I suppose something like the CMS before
The smell still haunts me to this very day
Oh god why did we have to sail that way?

As we near the ship from the other side
The adrenaline I feel rise inside
Ten foot was as close as we got when the CMS ordered us back to shore
Why he did this I'll never know maybe he'd taken enough photos and didn't need anymore

Our protests he ignored and dismissed
Thats it! my second chance I'd missed
The guilt I felt inside
After sixteen years has began to subside

Oh and for all you people out there who asked me to tell them my tale
In trade for what must have been gallons and gallons of ale

I told you exactly what you wanted to hear
So long as you kept buying me the beer
THE TRUTH I COULD NOT TELL
THE TRUTH WAS JUST SIMPLY HELL

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