The Soldier's Poem is a common military saying, representing the hardships a military service member must endure. The Quote often refers to World War II, although now it has grown to represent any wartime fight.

"And When he gets to heaven,

To Saint Peter will he tell;

One more soldier reporting, sir.

I've served my time in Hell!"

--PFC. James A. Donahue, USMC. 1st Marine Division, H Company, 2nd. Battalion, 1st. Regiment

History

The quote is generally attributed as an epitaph to an unknown Private First Class Bill Cameron. It was found inscribed on his grave in 1942 after the Guadalcanal Campaign

Guadalcanal campaign

The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...

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In PFC Donahue's personal journal he writes, "We made a plaque for Bill today," It is possible this plaque, made in September 1942 is the inscription that is attributed the quote. This is the only evidence supporting the claim that Donahue was the author. Furthermore it is speculated that Donahue only modified a World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 era poem, "Our Hitch in Hell" written by Frank B. Camp in 1917. The final stanza is, "When then we'll hear St. Peter tell us loudly with a yell, // Take a front seat you soldier men //For you've done your hitch in Hell!"
The poem gained some notoriety in 2002 because it appears right before the opening level of the Medal of Honor: Frontline

Medal of Honor: Frontline

-External links:*...

 video game.

Alternatives

Many alternatives exist. The most common is the replacement of "soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

" (which refers to an enlisted person in the Army) with "Marine" (which refers to an enlisted person in the Marine Corps). Since the poem is so short it is often used as a last stanza for much longer poems.