Bombardiers – Our Song

Here we are, sons of earth
High among the silvered cloud
Up for battle we go forth
High in spirit, gay and proud

Our wings are new, sturdy and strong
Forged by the evil deeds of wrong
To turn upon the beasts of hate
And surely, to seal their fate

We’re free and young and born to fly
Where birds once ruled, – now I
With wings of steel, shiny and strong
Will avenge the hate, the lust, the wrong

Our hearts are free, our souls are ours
Our speed is great, our power greater
We’ll smash them down, we’ll burn them under
And they’ll shudder to hear our thunder

Maybe you know – we’re bombardiers
We don’t know fear, we don’t know tears
Our eye is keen, our hand is steady
And our voice is clear when we yell “Ready”

We whip through skies grey with grief
Our ship is loaded, fast and swift
We do our jobs without relief
But we can take it – don’t need a lift

And when we sight our target – far below
Our nerves are tense for the coming blow
Of the steel and the heat and fire of our hate
Loosed on the heads of our earthly bait

So back us up, lift and push
And keep our wings from out the dust
We’ll aim ’em straight and watch ’em “mush”
For you folks at home – that – we must.

[This poem was included with the letter of Easter Sunday, 1943, where Biollo wrote beneath it: “My Easter card to you folks at home!!” See letter “14th 1943”].