Mids find muse amid war

About 50 midshipmen gathered in the Naval Academy Museum this week to read poems, some written by them after serving in combat and others as a tribute to warriors in uniform.

One mid who read his poem for the audience Tuesday, Midshipman 1st Class Eli Morales, served in Iraq as a Marine from February 2004 to April 2005.

He read his poem, "Wings Level, Cleared Hot," the first half of the title being a pilot's last check-list item when he was over a target Morales had called in for destruction, and the latter phrase, the words of the officer who gave the final approval for the air strike.

That was on Nov. 8,...