Duty...Honor...Country...The Corps... bamboo Hell

A prisoner..."The Camacho Group"... his legend tells

Courageous...defiant...he died...as he lived

 God asked the Marine ..."How much did you give?"

His God knew his answer… as only He knew

How much of the Donald Cook legend was true

He lived by "the Code" as he cared for his friends

In that bamboo Hell...where his legend begins

A prisoner of war...helping brothers survive

Semper Fi , selfless, he would keep them alive

Miles through the jungle... hard miles up the hills

Raw courage his guide...true valor...sheer will

The enemy shamed... by his bold lack of fear

With a gun to his head...made his enemy hear

 His diffusing prose… on the parts of  that  gun

Revered by survivors... for caged victories won

Unbending, unbreaking, he honored the Corps

His country, his family, like heroes before

Who share the blue ribbon…as only they do

Robert Burke, Versace and Donald Cook too

"The Pale Blue Ribbon"… the few… the proud

A Marine "ever faithfull"… unmarked jungle shroud

A hero of heroes…now his legend survives…

Aboard The USS Donald G. Cook…DDG-75