Vietnam Warrior: Another Dream/Another Reality is written in honor of the men and women who went away one day as girls and boys and returned as Veterans. And it as a Salute to the men and women who gave their all and serrves as just one more reminder that we must keep what these great sacrafices have all been for alive.
Welcome Home!
William R. Ilam "Easy" Smith
November 2000
Copyright 2000 by W. R. I. "Easy" Smith
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
VIETNAM WARRIOR: ANOTHER DREAM/ANOTHER REALITY
Thought I was a cowboy
cap pistoling away
Liked to be the cop too
til I lost my toy gun one day
When I played the bad guy
being the ganster didn't pay
my parents didn't go for that
in my room I had to stay
Climbed up on my wooden horse
clinching it's mopped hair
Found out I was dreaming
to miss childhood isn't fair
I was told to get some schooling
comes in handy and that's no fooling
Played spin the bottle
and doctor and nurse
even played mom and dad
but wasn't allowed to curse
Found out I was dreaming
reality set in how sad
Watched all the Tarzan movies
but he didn't have a gun
Yet with all his courage
King of the jungle seemed like fun
Saw all the war movies
thought soldiering would be fine
I knew they would be calling me
it was just a matter of time
Started thinking about what my father said
stories of comrades he no longer saw
He told me of his journey
in another war
And those he would not see again
the reason they were dead
They died so that we may live
these warriors of the past
For freedom is what he said
For our freedom they bled
I thought I had the edge on things
As I heard about the war in Southeast Asia
New feelings entered my head
more thinking about the things my daddy said
Started remembering my childhood heroes
figured I'd do just fine
But soon I was in the war
and reality changed my mind
I mustered up some courage
and renewed my faith in God
Didn't know if it would help or not
as I realized no more were the games
I was in a place called Vietnam
with all faces and new names
Some were known by general
we had Sergeants and Privates too
Tunnel rats and radio men
just to name a few
Some units were called companies
broken down four squads made a platoon
We travelled with a medic
He took care of the wounds
I saw in this new life
as a renewed temporary stay on earth
Thought many times I'd get it
and never again see my place of birth
I had me a real gun
shooting bullets was no fun
Especially when being shot at
by an enemy always on the run
But there I was where I became a man
the day my life as a combat warrior
had only just begun
Under skies filled with the burning of human waste
and the stinch of lifeless blood
We fought in rubber plantations
and rice paddies turned to mud
Where rockets landed in the rainy season
fighting not knowing the reason
I saw my buddies leave the wire
not everyone returned
Changed my belief in God
The bombs the fell without pity
as we fought in unknown cities
Sometimes in heavy battles
we suffered great loss
But we forged on
peace and freedom was our boss
Finally found a reason
renewed my faith in God
Travelled through mine filled roads
and slept in two man foxholes
Some days we missed a meal
part of the unwritten deal
Now and then we got to laugh
most times we were on alert
just one mistake easy to get hurt
Each man became a link
in a combat chain
fighting for freedom and democracy
so call us by our names
Though when the war was done
and we returned to where we'd begun
No welcome mat was laid
we had no warriors' parade
But we were not discouraged
atleast not by all the things we saw
We had fought for our country
in a foreign war
We left the embraces of family charms
we set aside our dreams
We answered to our country's
To Arms To Arms To Arms
We did our job
and there's honor in that
renewed my faith in God
Call us what you like
say about us what you feel
remember where we've been
it's not fiction it was real
We are combat Veterans
who went away one day
to fight for our country
and you can't take that away!