Excerpts from "THE WORLD, WAR, FREEDOM, AND MORE" by Del Jones
THE VIET NAM VET It's a very unique club - I see it everywhere - I see man embracing man - A tear that says, "I care!". There's a special look in eyes That words cannot explain - I see joy for this life - Sometimes the living pain. There's a camaraderie That's very rare these days - They let it show without shame In so many different ways. I wasn't there, (thank the Lord.) So I can't really know - I can only sense and feel Those things which I see show. The patience, understanding - Which only they can feel - There is something very special And something very real.		WHO'DA THOUGHT IT? A man with one leg - Another, crippled, bent Should remind us what it costs - And just how much was "spent" Not in dollars and sense(?) But in lives and misery - Things those of us safe at home Didn't want to see - We watched it on the "tube" Just like it was some John Wayne show - And how lucky we were We will never, ever know - We sat in our easy chairs Sipping a cold beer - Switching channels, war to football So we could root and cheer For our favorite teams (Some games we won't forget) But easily pushed from our minds Was the Viet Nam War Vet - It's a little better now - Some are starting to care - Trying to understand Problems brought home from there - It was a different war - Just ask those who fought it - You might learn about some things And say, "I'da never thought it."
Special Thanks to Del Jones
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER They went across the ocean To fight in that Asian war - On behalf of freedom, justice For peoples of that foreign shore. More than fifty-eight thousand men Faced wars' reality - Bravely sacrificed their lives So that others might be free. Most of them were very young - And now, it seems such a waste - That war accomplished nothing And has left a bitter taste. Those who did survive came home To a country which turned away - We didn't know how to greet them - We didn't know what to say. They came home to a nation That said it didn't care - Said it didn't want to know about What went on over there. The tide is finally turning - Don't you think it's about time We gave some praise to all of those Who laid their life on the line?		THE WALL There's a wall of marble Five hundred feet long - Ten feet high, scribed with names Of those who died, the strong. There's more than fifty-eight thousand Etched upon that stone - Most of them died so young This life, they've never known. It's such a small tribute To those who fought our war - Such a small price we pay To those who gave much more. Their name carved in a rock That most of us won't read - Not near enough praise to give For their most gracious deed. Seems there's too many of us Who don't really seem to care That we stayed home secure and safe While they died over there. Remember when you see that Wall With all those initials and names That those men were only pawns In one more of those deadly games. Let's hope what they gave had meaning - And that peace will always reign - That we won't have to send our young To fight and die again.
Return to: The VietNam Veterans' Memorial Wall Page

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