Four abreast
And sideways came
The armored force
With thought to maim.
Column by column
Across the sand
They over ran us
Fighting claw to hand.
The sun sank low
On that Panama beach,
But that bloody battle
Was not yet to reach
It's gastly end
On the shore below
For onward they pressed
Their morale was not low.
Their numbers were many
We Rangers were few.
Raw courage was with us
For many we slew!
Our small green allies
Were surrounded not far
In the company barracks
Right next to the bar.
We raced to the rescue
And not a bit late
They had entered our quarters
Their power was great.
With backs to the wall
And death in our eye
We battled our foe
'Till the last one did die.
Exhausted we fell
Asleep on the ground,
'Till morning awoke us
To the horror we found.
The vast plain of battle
So gruesome and drab,
Was covered entirely
By dead battered CRAB!
Copyright© by Mark W. Vance (C-2/75 Rangers, Ft. Sherman, CZ,
July 1976)