I Tap The Rifle's Magazine': Marine Takes You Inside Iraq War in Moving Poem for Veterans Day

"Yesterday I saw black smoke rising

from artillery strikes against insurgents. Dust

floats chest high, I breathe in. Boots kick up dust

My rifle is slung cross body;

it’s safe here but I tap the rifle’s magazine;

tapping it reminds me how to keep safe."

That's an excerpt from a poem delivered by U.S. Marine Corps veteran and poet Maurice Emerson Decaul who fought in the Iraq War.

Decaul delivered the poem as part of HBO's "Got Your Six" program, which works to normalize the depictions of veterans on film and television to dispel common myths about the veteran population and empower leaders here on the home front.

Watch Marine Corps Vet Deliver Moving Veterans Day Poem:

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