Memories of Vietnam

It was the spring of 1968 when I said goodbye to dad and mom
Went off to fight the war that was raging in Vietnam
I didn’t go there to be no hero, that was the last thing on my mind
Just a young kid, scared as hell, tryin to make it back home alive

It wasn’t like any other war, there were no front lines to secure
You couldn’t tell who was friendly and who your enemies were
By day they’d pat you on the back and call you number one GI
At night they’d grab their AK-47 and let the mortars fly

Politicians never sent their sons, they hid behind their daddy’s name
But they didn’t hesitate to send us over, a traitor we called her Hanoi Jane
And one of our top senators who says he represents the American flag
Was out there with the hippies when they burned her like a worn-out rag

You might wonder why a veteran don’t like to talk about the war
Maybe it’s because we’re still fighting it, even though we’re not there no more
We came back from that living hell, faced ridicule and scorn
They called us baby killers, spat on our uniforms

But they never held a buddy who was gasping for his last breath
They never walked in a soldier’s boots one step away from death
They stayed back here and kept judging us from their comfy easy chair
They didn’t have that right at all, they weren’t over there

Memories of the war often cloud my mind
And peaceful days are sometimes hard to find
And though I try hard I still can’t justify
Why I came back and fellow soldiers died

Now a pair of dog tags and a helmet hang on a rifle stuck in the ground
A somber monument to a fallen soldier who’ll never fire another round
So if you really want to show us veterans now much you really care
Don’t ask us to talk about the war, just remember us in your prayers