VIETNAM

Vietnam, yeah friend, I was there, still am

Ten thousand miles from home but I visit it everyday

Why, left my soul there, maybe someday I’ll find it

Where, among the thick jungle, nestled among the screams

Hidden beneath the horror that was there

Listen, can’t you hear them, I can

Medic, Medic, hold on son, helps coming

But for many it never came

Vietnam, yeah friend, I was there, still am

I visit it every night, through the sweat

Through the slightest sounds that return me to combat

Heart pounding, adrenaline gushing, ready to kill anything unknown

Darkness is my friend but I have to look close, eyes fixed

Slightest movement detected, VC, VC, take cover

I can hear him, breathing heavily, trying to pinpoint his exact location

Now he is mine, his life is over

Vietnam, yeah friend, I was there, still am

I visit it every day, through the loneliness

Through the stone look that replaces my smile

Through a body that once had a heart and soul

Through my hands that once were tender with love

All gone, replaced with grief and sorrow

Vietnam, yeah friend, I was there, still am

Still alive but not living, still breathing but not loving

Still longing for but can’t find the peace so desperately needed

Still trying to become what I was before the war

Looking for the big chopper to return me safely home

Will it ever come, probably not, it’s long overdue

They loaded the dead to return them home

But the living dead remain

Vietnam, yeah friend, I was there, still am

Always will be, tried to leave but can’t

Too many memories still linger, maybe someday

Rest in peace my hero comrades

For I was there with you, still am

Sgt. Rodney Cress

1st Calvary, Vietnam 70-71

Written June 2, 1995