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WE DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE
(and we did it well)
Some of us
went by our own choice
While others had to go
Some understood what they were fighting for
While others did not even know
We were
infantry, Marines, and sailors
Supply clerks, MPs and cook
We were radiomen, drivers, and pilots
Doing whatever it took
We were a
sampling of America
The children of the working class
When the nation called out to us
We could not let the call pass
While
protestors heaped ridicule upon us
And newspapers treated us with scorn
We did what had to be done
For the nation to which we were born
Then the
public turned their back on us
And the politicians gave up the stand
And the soldier was not even welcome
When returning to our land
But for some
reason the soldiers held on
We stood and continued the fight
No matter what some protestors may say
We knew this battle was right.
So though
we had no welcoming parades
And we all came home to disdain
It is evident just what we did there
The truth will always remain
The welcome
home that was never given
We each got from one another
The understanding and compassion we needed
Was from brother back to brother
Some say we
failed in that war
They say it’s a war that we lost
The truth is we did not lose a major battle
Though we paid a terrible cost
We fought
for the freedom of others
And for our buddies by our side
Thousands and thousands came home damaged
And fifty-eight thousand died
You may
think we were baby killers and druggies
Well, friend you can just go to hell
We went, we did what had to be done
And damn it, we did well!
#
Copyright © 2003 Stan Hutchison
MSG, US Army (ret)
RVN 1968-1969
Poet's Bio:
Assigned HQ, MACV Office of the AG, Admin Machine Branch, Personnel Accounting
Section. MOS 74C30. SSG E-6, From Nov, 1968 to Sept, 1969
Retired MSG E-8 in 1986. Now live in Deer Park, WA. Presently involved in
veteran's political issues locally. Also produce my own CD recordings of my
Vietnam & Patriotic poems.
To Contact STANLEY E HUTCHISON
E-mail: nighthawksh@msn.com
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Stan Hutchison
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