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The Donald
The name is famous, but learn about one you likely didn't know.
Act I - North Dakota
"The Donald" was a name to hate
A president that some thought great
No matter on which side you stand
He caused a stir across the land
But there's another we shall see
Born not to wealth but poverty
A man named George a Scotsman he
Moved to the land of liberty
He found himself a native bride
Their fam'ly it soon multiplied
The year was 1924
Another son to him she bore
This Donald had a Scottish name
He was a native just the same
Fort Berthold Res was where he grew
Four sisters and three brothers too
The family farmed on the large reservation. One child died in infancy.
A river swim when Don was four
He drifted much too far from shore
Resulting in a terr'ble scare
His life was almost ended there
His mother screamed, teen sister near
Went after him despite her fear
The teen sister was my friend John's mother. She lived to 106.
She braved the current there so strong
She risked her life and battled long
But finally she won the war
And pulled her brother to the shore
Yeah, a bit of foreshadowing there.
He almost drew his final breath
Was it a sign of early death?
Natives like Donald's mother and sister often considered an averted tragedy to be a portent of death at a young age.
Act II - The World
The year was 1929
Economies were doing fine
Until on Wall Street fortunes crashed
The Great Depression came at last
Protectionists in year '30
Passed a bad act called Smoot-Hawley
Sometimes called Hawley-Smoot, the Tariff Act of 1930 implemented protectionist trade policies.
Exacerbate the trade decline
Is not the way to save mankind
Around the world the sickness spread
Masses seeking daily bread
Then overseas a savior rose
Spewing hatred against all foes
An orator without a peer
His power rose by every year
Hugo Boss joined in the mess
Sewing unis for the SS
The Schutzstaffel were the most fanatical Nazis
Yes, Adolf Hitler was the man
A master race, a master plan
A Beer Hall Putsch in '23
Convicted him, no longer free
Read the Beer Hall Putsch article.
Although it seemed that he did fail
Mein Kampf he wrote while in the jail
Hitler's book means "My Struggle," although it was more like "My Ravings."
An early pardon he received
Was the court evil or deceived?
In any case the decade hence
His rise to power would commence
From Austria did Hitler flee
Now a German he must be
He had denounced his Austrian citizenship years before, but was not yet German.
Appointed to a German post
A citizen he then could boast
In 1932, Hitler was appointed as administrator for the state of Brunswick's delegation to the Reichsrat in Berlin, making him a citizen.
In 1932 he ran
For president he'd be the man
But Hindenburg gave him a loss
Still Hitler soon would be the boss
Hitler came in second but Hindenburg did not have a majority, so he agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor.
The chancellor by '33
Creating Nazi Germany
The Reichstag fire then justified
Destroying rights on every side
Read this Reichstag Fire article.
The populace he did beguile
Saluting him with every heil
Heil means hail, commonly used as "Heil Hitler!"
Though Socialists no longer free
He promised them returned glory
The term Nazi is derived from National Socialist
The Anschluss came in '38
Forced unity was not so great
The Nazis cheered and loudly said
Vote with us now or end up dead
Austrians were threatened into voting for union with Germany, and thus became part of the Reich.
The Czechs were next he'd cook their goose
Sudetenland was the excuse
The German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia was claimed by Germany.
Chamberlain duped, played for a fool
"Peace for our time" claimed Adolf's tool
Six months later the truth sunk in
Hitler in Prague announced his win
German invaded Czechoslovakia with minimal resistance and no response from other countries.
Emboldened by the lack of will
The Fuhrer's plans grew bolder still
The German Blitzkrieg now began
In Poland for more living land
Lebensraum or living space, drove Nazi policy. See this article.
The commies wanted their fair share
Red Army joined the Nazis there
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 included a secret agreement to partition Poland.
Katyn Forest hides her mass graves
Where Poles will die not live as slaves
The Soviets killed nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and other prisoners of war in the massacre.
From Warsaw ghettos caging Jews
Poles face defeat but never lose
The uprising was crushed, but the memory lives on. If you like learning history through rock music, listen to Sabaton with Closed Captioning on. And now that you know the song, join them live in Warsaw!
To Kracow homes where Jews were hid
Defy the foe? Brave Poles sure did
My friend Alan's relatives risked their lives to hide Jews.
Their hope and faith against the lies
Death they prefered to compromise
France in '40 was beaten fast
BeNeLux did not long last
BeNeLux is Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. All surrendered in May of 1940, with France following in June.
A proud England shamed at Dunkirk
Planned a retreat and made it work
British Expeditionary Force was forced into the Dunkirk area, and had to abandon most of their vehicles and equipment to escape.
Three hundred thousand saved those days
A massive fleet sailed o'er the waves
More than 338,000 soldiers were evacuated from France. Some think that Hitler let it happen because he hoped for a treaty with England.
The fishing boats and pleasure craft
Lifeboats and yachts stowed soldiers aft
They crossed the Channel despite fear
With courage saved those soldiers dear
"On the beaches we shall fight"
Churchill proclaimed into the night
"Evacuations win no wars"
But vict'ry someday will be ours
The London Blitz saw bombs fall down
Upon civilians on the ground
The Blitz from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941 saw over 40,000 English dead and many more injured. About two million houses were destroyed or damaged.
A thousand dead each awful week
Luftwaffe planes were at their peak
The R.A.F. had fighters though
Quick Spits and 'canes put on a show
The Spitfires and Hurricanes put up a brave fight in the Battle of Britain that overlapped the Blitz. Polish, Czech and Canadian pilots made significant contributions.
Brave young pilots lost many lives
Merry Old England would survive
Over 1,500 airmen and 23,000 civilians died.
Act III - America
Then '41 was a key year
For USA the war drew near
When Pearl Harbor was attacked
Young people rushed to have her back
They bombed our land we know not where
We've never seen Hawaii fair
Most Americans had no idea where Pearl Harbor was situated. Travel vacations to Hawaii were not common during the Great Depression.
But we'll sign up to do our part
Serve this great land with all our heart
Avenge this evil on our shore
We'll fight to win this great world war
Though armies great and mighty be
They're made of single men you see
Let's look at one to hear his tale
Without the one the many fail
The philosophical problem of the one and the many deals with unity, plurality and relationality. While beyond the scope of this exercise in rhyming history, further investigation may prove rewarding!
Someone returns to what we say
He has a role that he must play
Donald Hosie is just one man
But surely you will understand
This brave so reckless and so bold
Carries no thoughts of growing old
Donald was a modern Arikara brave, willing to fight for the USA like the Arikara scouts in the US Army of the 1800s.
His close escapes destroyed all fear
He only seeks adventure here
Act IV - The South
The Airborne is what he will dare
Only the best can make it there
Most soldiers failed to get through airborne training. They were elite.
And then of course no need to say
Men of the air get extra pay
A Screaming Eagle seems just right
For a young brave who wants to fight
Eagles and eagle feathers were highly prized in native culture. The 101st Airborne mascot was the Screaming Eagle.
It's '42 the time has come
To bid farewell to dad and mom
To brothers and to sisters brave
A special one his life did save
The older sister who saved Donald's life was the mother of my friend John.
Toccoa Camp is where he'll go
Prepare himself to fight the foe
Like the 506 Band of Brothers, the 501 trained at Toccoa.
He leaves Dakota's winter snows
To Georgia's humid heat he goes
Arriving in the army town
He stands amazed at what he's found
No hills like this back home he saw
He stares in wonder and in awe
The Cherokee this mountain named
It's Currahee above the plain
Currahee means "Stand Alone" because it is the only mountain in the area.
We stand alone, we say with pride
Depend on none to save our hide
When you plan to jump behind enemy lines, you can't depend on other branches of the military to save you.
Three miles up, three miles down
You'll run it hard without a frown
Running the mountain was a key part of fitness training.
The orders came, commands were clear
Only the best can make it here
They pushed him hard not always fair
But he was tough and didn't care
He made it through each day and night
The Five Oh One was his by right
Donald made it into the 501 Parachute Infantry Regiment.
A paratrooper he'd become
Eighteen years old and oh so young
Atlanta city made him gawk
It took awhile they had to walk
The men marched 115 miles to Atlanta in December 1942 to prove their toughness.
Camp Makall next upon the list
They jumped and trained and fought with fist
If they couldn't find other units to fight, they would fight each other.
In '44 the news came fast
We're headed overseas at last
The Five Oh One is England bound
Their cheers became a mighty sound
Act V - England & France
They trained and trained and trained some more
Exactly what did we come for?
Your chance to die comes soon enough
Now train some more and prove you're tough
The fifth of June and engines roar
This time they'll jump it's '44
They left before midnight but jumped on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
The big birds down the runway roll
This night will take a terrible toll
C-47 planes transported 15-18 paratroopers each. Donald is believed to be seated at the far right.
The flak explodes with blinding flash
Some planes go down in flames they crash
All that training all those young men
Will never see the earth again
To Normandy the landing plan
The target is near Carentan
Now it is time there shines the light
The boys must jump into the night
A green light signified that it was time to exit the plane.
Geronimo! it is their cry
As they leap out into the sky
They were inspired by the 1939 movie Geronimo.
The tribe was wrong this you should know
An Apache was Geronimo
Arikara was Donald's tribe
But it's alright that didn't jibe
He yelled with pride on that dark night
Like Batman dropping down to fight
Batman debuted 30 March 1939, five months before the Nazis invaded Poland.
With Jumpy Johnson in command
No enemy for long will stand
They'll take the locks at La Barquette
But Germans won't give up just yet
With control of the locks, the Germans could control flooding in the area, making movement much tougher. 
The casualties begin to mount
Hell's Corner is a bloody fount
Was Donald there we can not tell
Where he had fought he did it well
Jumping at night by parachute
Makes it quite hard to plan a route
With troopers scattered far and wide
The men came down where e'er they'd glide
Some drowned in swamps before dawn's light
They had no chance to even fight
But our bold brave well he came through
And made it back to England too
Act VI - Netherlands
Hell's Highway was a brutal route
A plan too bold there is no doubt
For Monty had a wild goal
His bridge too far would take its toll
But when orders are given out
Troops have no say despite their doubt
They jumped again one fine fall day
Both Brits and Yanks the price would pay
Soon Five Oh One was on the ground
With daylight drop their friends they found
A windmill sat in Eerde town
Close by the troopers settled down
This painting of the mill during WW2 is found inside the mill now. 
With Germans near on sand dunes high
From that key spot the shells could fly
The dunes are in a wooded area, greener than you might expect. 
Day 24 September morn
Metallic sounds on fog are borne
Into the town the tanks they rolled
A morning plan that is quite bold
No one can see the German force
Then fog lifts up it's run its course
Two hundred men are coming too
The Colonel knows what he must do
He makes the call using his rank
The British tanks they soon will thank
The Germans to the dunes return
But three Shermans begin to burn
"A" Company was trained for this
This battle they would never miss
They charge the guns as bullets fly
Not knowing if that day they'll die
Thirty-nine fall the price is paid
The cost severe to stop that raid
Eight of them stay forever down
Vict'ry was won but leaves a frown
One trooper young his end has met
Died for the Dutch who won't forget
Our Donald brave our fighting teen
From his sad death what can we glean?
The youngest man to fall that day
A warrior he'll always stay
Land of the free home of the brave
Young men like him did freedom save
Yes, the play on "brave" is intentional.
He did his part no one can doubt
Each man a role the foe to rout
Remember him the day he fell
The 24th he finished well
Act VII - Seven is the Number of Completion
The price of freedom colored red
When for us all blood must be shed
One other thing that I can see
But well aware not all agree
Eternal freedom had that cost
When Jesus died upon a cross
His blood was shed to save from sin
Those who believe will enter in
May we remember those who died
Shot down in war or crucified
They gave us gifts they gave their all
Give it some thought heed freedom's call
by Randy Brandt
Mostly written 24 & 29 November 2023
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