What is a Vet?

I first found this short essay (it's almost a poem), What is a Vet? somewhere on the Net about a dozen years ago, in the last 90s. I immediately put a copy of it on a website that I ran.

That site is no more, but I thought it important enough to copy it over to my new pages, even if it has nothing to do with Math.

My original source credited the work to Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC . However, he might have only written the few lines on the bottom. If anyone can find the author of the top portion (or show me that it is, in fact, all one poem), I would appreciate it.

Have a Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy your barbecues and beach parties, but take time out to remember those who made all that possible.