With careful hands we propped him
   Behind the sheltering wall,
While round us the explosions
   Wrought terror in us all.
We asked how he was wounded.
   He answered undismayed,
“The orders of our Captain
   Must always be obeyed.”

With fading strength he whispered
   How he had joined the corps,
Called by his nation’s Sovereign
   To serve in peace or war.
It mattered not the issue,
   Nor did he count the cost—
He would be a faithful soldier
   Or the kingdom might be lost.

The victories had been narrow,
   The carnage wide and large,
But, ah, the foe was vanquished
   In many a glorious charge.
He served our valiant Captain
   In battles small and great;
Hence the beloved homeland
   Was spared a grievous fate.

Now this, his final battle,
   He said with closing eyes,
Despite its sombre outcome
   Would bring the victor’s prize.
Then with his life’s last breathing
   Those gripping words relayed,
“The orders of our Captain
   Must always be obeyed.”

Those words still shine before me,
   Their meaning sharp and fine—
To be a Christian soldier
   Means life is on the line.
We press our Sovereign’s battle
   With choice already made,
The orders of our Captain
   Will always be obeyed!

—Dave Breese