I Shall Return

‘I shall return.’ says the Father,
As he presses his wife to his heart.
He kisses all three of his children,
Jimmy, and Jane, and Art.

‘I shall return.’ Says the Brother,
As his sister wipes her eyes,
His brother smiles on him proudly,
His mother hugs him, and cries.

‘I shall return.’ Says the Pilot,
As his `plane he clambers in,
He boldly squares his shoulders,
And sticks out his boyish chin.

‘I shall return.’ Says the General,
As he stands on the island shore,
His orders are ‘leave the island,’
His Army can hold it no more.

The Father returned to his Family,
The Brother returned to his home,
The bold and courageous Pilot,
Returned to his aerodrome;

The Japanese took the Island,
Their course through it they burned,
The U.S. took it back again,
The General had returned.

The Pilot was the Brother,
The one whom they called Art,
The General was the Father,
Who pressed his wife to his heart.