Mary Ann Ashner, of Bowmanstown, shared a poem that her late husband, a Vietnam veteran, wrote in 1969.

The words by Jeffrey Ashner were published in the Times News shortly after he penned them, and Mary Ann wanted to share them with others for Memorial Day.

“Jeff served as a corpsman, a medic, at the front, in the hills and mountains of Vietnam,” Mary Ann said. “What he experienced there remained mostly silent after he came home.”

Jeff was born and raised in the Lehighton area, and after Vietnam, he worked at Blue Ridge Pressure Castings, New Jersey Zinc Company, Lehighton Lincoln-Mercury, Laneco and Pencor before his health started to fail, she said. He was also a bartender at the American Legion Post 314 in Lehighton.

“But perhaps the experience that affected him most was that of serving in Vietnam. Although he rarely spoke of it, Vietnam had a special place in Jeff’s heart and mind,” Mary Ann said.

She said that her husband, who was known for his sense of humor, would share stories about his experiences at the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia and at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“But Vietnam stayed in his thoughts, quietly,” she said.

Mary Ann asked that his poem be published “not just to memorialize Jeff and to honor his service — but also to honor all those who served our country then, and for those who have served and sacrificed for our country in today’s turbulent times.”

Jeff passed away in 2019 at the age of 71.

“Honor Him Please”

In a place they call Vietnam,

They say there is a spot,

Deep in the hearts of many men

It seems that God has forgot.

In the field amidst rain, muck, and heat

Pushing at paces as though to drop,

Remembering their loved ones, dare not stop.

Remember my friend, these boys who are men

Who are guarding quite an amount.

Their leaving home was not much then;

Now your prayers will surely count.

Up at five and down who knows when,

This is war my friend, my friend

You say there’s a tomorrow

But who knows what then?

Living life hour by hour, day by day,

Be this the price these men must pay.

Then it happens, a man gets hit,

For this man, this time is it.

This man is no free of rounds of shells,

This man is free of a living hell.

Remember my friend, though a man be just one,

Honor him please; he was an American son.

Jeffrey L. Ashner

Hospital Corpsman,

U.S. Naval Hospital Philadelphia

11-23-1969