Lyrics

Said goodbye to his momma as he left South Dakota

To fight for the red, white and blue

He was nineteen and green with a new M-16

Just doing what he had to do

He was dropped in the jungle where the choppers would rumble

With the smell of napalm in the air

And the sergeant said look up ahead

Like a dark evil cloud

Twelve-hundred came down on him and twenty-nine more

They fought for their lives but most of them died

In the one-seventythird Airborne

On the eighth of November the angels were crying

As they carried his brothers away

With the fire raining down and the hell all around

There were few men left standing that day

Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky

1965, the eighth of November

Now he's fifty-eight and his pony tail's gray

But the battle still plays in his head

He limps when he walks but he's strong when he talks

About the Shrapnel they left in his leg

He puts on a gray suit over his Airborne tattoo

And he ties it on one time a year

And remembers the fallen as he orders a tall one

And swallows it down with his tears

On the eighth of November the angels were crying

As they carried his brothers away

With the fire raining down and the hell all around

There were few men left standing that day

Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky

1965

The eighth of November

The eighth of November (eighth of November)

Said goodbye to his momma as he left South Dakota

To fight for the red, white, and blue

He was nineteen and green with a new M-16

Just doing what he had to do

Songwriters: Kenny Alphin / John D. Rich

Niles Harris told Kenny Alphin (also known as Big Kenny) and John Rich about Nov. 8, 1965.

On that day, Harris and his platoon, as well as several other platoons, fought a battle on Hill 65 in War Zone D. Vastly outnumbered by the enemy, 48 American soldiers died that day. Of the 30 men in Harris' platoon, only five survived.

Harris, 19 at the time, was shot in the right leg early in the battle. Because of the heavy fighting, it took 12 hours for him and the other injured to be evacuated. Harris remembers medic Lawrence Joel taking care of the wounded, despite being shot twice himself. Joel earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery.

After half a dozen surgeries and nearly two years in and out of hospitals, Harris returned to military duty. He remained in the military for 25 years, retiring in 1987.

Although he refused to dwell on what happened on Hill 65, Harris says he never forgot either. "On Nov. 8, I always used to have a drink for the boys. Get dressed up and have a drink," he said.