Why Do We Call Them 'Martyrs' And Not 'Unsung Heroes'?

To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die, 

Despite we live with loss and pain, but we live with our heads held high, 

Why do we call them 'martyrs' and not 'unsung hero's? 

It's their sheer grit and courage, that they call it summers to sub-zeros, 

Hundreds of kilometers away from their homes, 

Blood brothers, bounded by life, by the OG uniforms, 

July 1999, witnessed the bloodshed, 

Siachen is still ashamed of the snow that went red, 

Treacherous mountains, and crevasses so deep, 

Loads of ammunition, rations, and letters, 

In the terrains where it's even difficult to breathe, 

Haunting beauty and eerie glow of the Kashmir valley, 

They plodded tenaciously, on and on, with selfless devotion and starving bellies, 

Did they know, they were never coming back? 

Even if they would, they won't step back, 

Dras, Tololing, Kargil and Knoll, 

Death staring in the face of our Bravehearts, and they stood ramrod straight and tall, 

Raw courage, exemplary valor, they set new benchmarks for heroism, 

They were the Daredevils, they are the spirits difficult to replicate, 

They are an inspiration, 

To the young sinewy officers of our nation, 

This is unity in diversity, 

Rajputana rifles, Sikh Regiment, Grenadiers or Para Special Forces, 

Hand in hand, one for all, all for one, each other they endorse, 

"Bole so nihal" Or " Shri Ram Chandra ki Jai", 

Warcries brimmed with Josh and seething to take their fellow comrades revenge, 

They witnessed screaming shells all around and raining vengeance, 

It's the ultimate aim of every soldier to go to war, 

To take stories with them to tell their children and grandchildren, 

From Capt. Vikram Batra's "yeh dil mange more"

To Lt. Vijyant Thapar's, 

"If I lead, follow me, 

Should I retreat, shoot me, 

If I die, avenge me"

But after the war, when you will see coffins of your boys, 

Your hearts will sink and thy soul will cry, 

Mothers will lose their only sons, 

And young girls will get widowed so early in their life, 

Love and hate, pleasure and grief, politics and communities, all will cease to strife, 

Wars don't bring peace, they only bring misery, it destroys life, shatters families, and leave behind a legacy of sadness and hate, 

Promises are broken, some works are left unfinished, a grim, somber void is what they create, 

It leaves behind senile parents suffering Dementias and what else? 

"To live in the same twenties in their hearts for eternity" is what they tell, 

Their photographs in frames, 

And mannequins in uniforms, 

Thousands of memories with their sweethearts, 

Their names cheer them up with pride and charge them with warmth!