BITS AND PIECES

  I didn't want to go there,  So very far from home, I didn't want to see and feel,  What turned my heart to stone.  I didn't want to see men die, I didn't want to kill, But Uncle Sam called on me  And said, "Son, yes you will."  So off I went to Vietnam, To lend a helping hand  To those who fought for freedom  In a foreign land.  Then one day I was told  My tour there now was done, So I packed up and headed home  Where another battle had begun.  A battle to feel welcome  In a country I called home, But I was shunned and made to feel Forever all alone.  There were those who called me coward, There were those who turned away, And so my battles still are fought,  To this very day.  I battle to make sense of it  And peace I cannot find, For all the sights and sounds of war, Remain here in my mind.  And so to honor those  Who died helping others to be free, I say to all who turned away, These heartfelt words from me.  You didn't fight the battles,  In the jungles and the rain, You didn't go to fight a war  That left you with such pain.  You didn't look into the eyes  Of a brother lying still, As he asked you, "Tell my loved ones, My death is our Lord's will."  You didn't welcome us back home, You didn't really care, So the crosses of our battles fought,  With you we cannot share.  We live each day with memories  Of things not fond ... but true, We did it all with pride inside,  ‘Cuz that's what U.S. soldiers do.  We were told by our Country  That we must do our part, To fight for freedom anywhere, Though war would break our hearts.  Yes, we did what was asked of us, We gave our very best, And to those who gave their very lives,  May God grant you peace and rest!