The Sapper
The Army has many trades and it seemed part of the plot
When I joined the Engineers, I sometimes scored the lot
If variety is the spice of life, this is the Corps for you
You have to be so versatile, there’s nothing you can’t do
I’m the first to tread on hostile ground, as our troops advance
Up to the very gates of hell, where it’s all a game of chance
During each campaign, it seemed hard to believe
Though I was always the first one in, I was usually the last to leave
The days were hot or freezing and the hours were long
Building bridges digging ditches, like in that Irish song
And even after sunset, other tasks I must endure
I’m out there after midnight, checking our lines are still secure
I’ve sometimes lost my temper and called upon God’s wrath
Carrying a dying child, in a bloody aftermath
My only consolation, when I go out to roam
Is knowing that my family, is safe and sound at home
It’s neither guts nor glory, when your lying on the ground
Making safe a mine or I.E.D. with no one else around
Sometimes it makes better sense, to trade my bayonet for a pen
Knowing that tomorrow, I’ll have to do it all again
Even when I return, I know I’m not the same
A simple clap of thunder, sends me back again
I’ve seen mankind at it’s worst, while serving over there
The panics and the nightmares, are things I cannot share
My job is not for everyone, some details I won’t tell
Many lives depend on me, so I have to do it well
My uniform is soiled and stained and I may not look so dapper
I’m a combat engineer, who’s proud to be a sapper
By Tomas ‘Paddy’ Hamilton
20 July 2019
FILE PHOTO (July 2020): Sapper Lewis Coulter sweeps for mines during the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment Commanding Officers’ Challenge held at Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory. Photo by Private Rodrigo Villablanca.
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