Remembering 'Nam'
For
money, for land, for a political stand:
Wars
have been fought through the ages.
The
dead, the dying, those who would rather die,
The
agony of war catalogued, pages and pages.
Let
us write of Vietnam,
lest
the horrors and sacrifices be forgotten by the masses;
The
camaraderie, the friendship and the love
Never
distinguished by the classes.
Although
mere words could never try
To
express the fear, the pain, the tears,
The
reasons, the excuses, the why.
Semper
Fi, Semper Fi, that brotherhood of men,
Moving
quietly through the jungle, resting now and then;
Searching
out the enemy, feeling death close,
and
Wondering not how, not if, but when.
Somewhere
near a battle rages, helicopters fill the air;
Troops
brought in, wounded out, under a frantic corpsman's care.
Mortars
are thumping, jets are strafing, helicopters full;
The
pleading for more, not enough to go around,
The
dead, the dying, the maimed litter the bloody ground.
On
the rivers, down in the tunnels, on patrol or a prisoner for years,
No
matter what the duty, each man faced his private fears.
The
enemy was everywhere, no matter what kind,
In
the jungle, demonstrators, or in one's own mind.
Sing
a hymn in your hearts, a sad yet calm refrain
For
those who came home, for those who still remain;
Perhaps
someday a memorial will tell of the bravery
Of
those who went, and the names of those who fell.