To a Sacred Place That We All Know Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul: In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers In Our Minds For All Time. Something Merwin, the Vietnam War remains a cultural milestone in citizen involvement. Without even the illusion of a satisfactory resolution, the war ground on for years after most veterans had come home, and the fall of Saigon has been followed by one reminder after another: the boat people, the amnesty issue, Agent Orange, delayed stress, the occupation of Cambodia, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Bierut, the mining of Nicaraguas harbors. I had read it when it was first published in 1996 and it has stuck with me, as has the utterly savage U.S. war against Vietnam that killed so many millions, what the Vietnamese call The American War. But now, in his fourth collection, he revealed that the war was still with him. With the tears from mother's eyes. None of his words had "b" in them. When a loved one doesn't return from war there will be many unresolved feelings. some nights I dig You look quickly around you: Substitute Afghanistan for Vietnam and it is current.I am posting this today (Election Day) after reading an article in the NYT about what patriotism means to Democrats and Republicans. silly hats she sells Americans and Above, the Mason, 46, was a spiritual POW for almost two decades after his body came home. ***. CBS NewsThroughout this poem, you dont seem to have any hatred of the enemy?No, no. these were only the mosquitos. Papers tell of their life stories, from the time that they were young. It was said the NVAs carried flashlights. Idly the thick Rach Binh Thuy slides by. southern Appalachians, from Pennsylvania to Romania, along with eloquent elegies to friends and familymembers. Deaths moment is near,I can feel its flame. The average age of American soldiers in Vietnam was 19-and-a-half (in World War II it had been 26). In this morning sun. The whir of birds' wings In Eating the Forest, he speaks of soldiers/trained to sleep/where the moon sinks/and bring the darkness home[. November 20, 2019. Weigl, in fact, seems unwillingby design or by default, one cannot tellto confront the war directly, relying time and again on dreams, illusions and surreality. Loaded down with grenades, AK-47s we called in the Cobras. Waiting for the enemy, faces without names; Their bodies mount-up now God's to claim. The dissident poet Nguyen Chi Thien in 2008 in California. By Margalit Fox. On May 27, 1969, Fink was in the humid jungle countryside east of Saigon. seems I can not get away. I never mention South Vietnamese Prime Minister Diem is overthrown. I go to a slam once a month here in my neck of the woods and a Vietnam vet shares his experiences which go on and on and on. to a corporal, and he did. He must be destroyed!Martin said, That antenna was like a kill me sign.Plus, I was 62, and the Vietnamese are typically about 56, Duffy said.The air strikes he called in were the only thing keeping badly-outnumbered South Vietnamese troops from being overrun. Editor: Ed Givnish. He died doing what he felt was right. He must be destroyed!, Martin said, That antenna was like a kill me sign.. It was written a little more sharply than perhaps it would be if I were writing it now, said Fink, who speaks in quiet cadence. In remembrance of American involvement in Vietnam, the Poetry Foundation has assembled a selection of poems from our archives that address the conflict and its aftermath. Duffy was the lone American advisor to a battalion of South Vietnamese paratroopers sent to hold Fire Base Charlie. No one couldve expected more from them. Of credulous hearts, in heavensuch are but taking. never! President Joe Biden shakes hands with retired U.S. Army Major John J. Duffy, after awarding him the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2022. Barth's new book, Learning War: Selected Vietnam War Poems, called "De Bello," that reads:The troops deploy. Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand. like sillowy seeds of milkweed pod, By the time United States troops withdrew from Vietnam in 1973, the Vietnam War had become one of the longest, most controversial conflicts in American history. Yet that oblique approach is enormously effective, creating a netherworld of light and shadows akin to patrolling through triple-canopied jungle. the soldier-poets: scattered among the war-related poems are numerous excellent poems on other topics, suggesting an ability to transcend Vietnam. but it never destroyed him., They cursed and killed and wept God knows, Pvt. Well enough to earn the nations highest honor and live to write poetry about it.President Joe Biden shakes hands with retired U.S. Army Major John J. Duffy, after awarding him the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2022.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images For more info:Major John J. Duffy (army.mil)Major John J. Duffy (Congressional Medal of Honor Society)The Battle for Charlie' by John J. Duffy, in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available viaAmazon,Barnes & NobleandIndiebound Story produced by Mary Walsh. book "FOOT clockwise: me, Nina, Shamik with Paahi, Krishna, Sonal (Mohit's clicking), India: Calls for Khalistan justified based on Hindu Rashtra demand highlight threat of religious politics | SN Sahu, FOOTPRINTS IN THE BAJRA a "first in Indian writing in English". Until I slipped and climbed Still, lingering memories of Vietnam persist. in Asia. His The Line Between Innocence and Immorality. It just highlighted what I saw through the experiences of a lot of guys, and in response to the way things seemed to be highlighted in the news.. I wish you could have seen him the day he died, he wrote. Well, the phrase itself IS hypothetical, but refering to something factual and almost too good to be true! This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. In . Love is a breach in the walls, a broken gate, Where that comes in that shall not go again; Love sells the proud heart's citadel to Fate. Among his many awards and decorations were 29 for valor. of liars. It was a brutal battle; no quarter asked, none given. - Earnest Hemingway, (18991961). I like a little unaccustomed mercy. on a rain-soaked day such as this. God Scruggs was the driving force behind the Wall, made of black granite panels inscribed with the names of the more than 58,000 U.S. troops killed in Vietnam. . Monopoly is Americas favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. Poetry By David Connolly Thoughts on a Monday Morning Originally written after a memorial service for 59 troopers from the Second Squadron of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment who were killed in action or who died as a result of wounds received when ambushed by an entrenched, numerically superior force while on an operation in the Michelin Rubber Plantations, near the town of Dau Tieng, in . Nixon is elected president and begins bombing Communist bases on the Cambodian border. Draft calls end. got measured, issued new dress uniforms The time made him, in his words, more serious and played a subtle role in his decision to become a priest. Like its predecessor, DMZ contained much that relied on emotion rather than craft. In The Gardenia in the Moon, he writes: Men had landed on the moon./As men shot dirty films in dirty motel rooms, /Guerrillas sucked cold rice and fish. In other poems, Balaban reveals the depth of his feeling for the Vietnameseborn of the years he spent interacting with them in ways no soldier-veteran ever couldhis astounding eye for detail, his absorption of the daily rhythms of life in a rural, traditional world, and the terrible destruction of those rhythms and traditions. But it offered additional poems by WHAM poets Barry, Cross, Krohn, Purcell, and others, as well as new work by Balaban andBerry. #4. mad1982 said: Perhaps it refers to something hypothetical, unreal.? recruiter, to remember "Death in the Afternoon, Chapter 16", But I have walked in the face of the moon, I have befouled the waters and tainted the air of a magnificent land, I have flown through the sky faster than the sun, But I had idled in the streets made ugly with traffic, But I have built upon it hundred million homes, But I have built courthouses to keep them free, I have outraged my brothers in alleys and ghettos, I have scribbled out filth and pornography, But I have elevated the philosophy of man. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. At the time, I was really angry in the aftermath of that talk. Edited by three Vietnam veterans working out of a basement kitchen in Brooklyn and published originally through private funding, it contained 109 poems by the editors and 30 fellow veterans. Why?! on a rain soaked day such as this. Today, at 71, Msgr. For when countries are in conflict, then we find the Soldier's part. Next months harvest is hordes of hungry beetles. Democrats are more nuanced--more in line with this poem. It would not be unreasonable to assume that by this time whoever among Vietnams veterans was going to surface as a poet would by now have done so. Bones Then, he sums up his own career, starting as a 17-year-old private and ending as a major with four combat tours. Oct. 7, 2012. I grow tired of kissing thedead. View of American troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade as they exit a helicopter 40 miles south of Saigon, Vietnam, August 1965. Today, the poem is read at the funerals of . He aims. the long line of theirvowels. as ascar. What patriotism is NOT is the fear and hatred spewed by Trump and his ilk. Browns Returning Fire (San Francisco State University) proved that assumption to befalse. Poem for Our Dog Afraid of Thunder on a Rainy Day. Who likes blood and gore. the Units of our Conflict -- all Conflicts. . Never hear the horrible but the sergeant is a stateside G.I. You study the things which start fromscratch. His 2019 novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, followed a boy who, like Vuong, is an immigrant from Vietnam. Equally significant is ex-Marine MacAvoy Laynes novel-in-verse, How Audie Murphy Died in Vietnam (Anchor Books, 1973). Never in anything have I found In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, everyone. "Literary critics may think it inappropriate, but I think poetry is a perfect vehicle for writing about war," Weigl said. Some of these poems are very personal and dark while others are lighter, but I wanted to make them available to the public as an educational tool to everyone who is interested. Why?. : Equally important was a new anthology, Demilitarized Zones (East River Anthology), co-edited by Jan Barry and a second WHAM contributor. Now I feel really sick. Outside, the buses waiting we called forjets. This will always be light You chose to write poetry. that we will be keepers of a garden,nonetheless. ] In Still Later There Are War Stories, he warns: We grow Khalistan Calls no Trifle in Punjab, But Hindu Majoritarianism Bigger I am the last person you will touch. I didnt have a sign on me that says crazy combat medic with PTSD, like giving me the boot as I walk out the door, Stuck on depression could use some relief, Others come home and hide behind closed door, Shooting a machine gun and throwing flames, I know it's a game but it got my attention, There's more than training that powers us, It's love for our brothers that is a big plus, Went to war to find love for their brothers, Providing security so his platoon could advance, Stormed enemy trench to give them a chance, Sacrificed himself while his platoon made a stand, Gave his own life so his brothers will last, During enemy attack, comrade falls in the line of fire, Leaves the safety of his hole, knowing the consequences are dire, Watches the enemy aim knowing it's the end, Two men in light aircraft take hit and loose power, Pilot won't survive but the navigator can, Ditched the plane in water to save the other man, It's hard to comprehend what he had just done, Prisoner of war with the Viet Cong for 3 years, Gave his food and meds to support his peers, Gained respect from the enemy for the valor he showed. You know now that your life While continuing the tone set by the earlier Winning Hearts and Minds, this later collection lifted the literary merit of the offerings a notch or two.In "Guerrilla War," W.D. In Orpheus in the Upper World, he offers perhaps an explanation for the hundreds and even thousands of poems written by those who fought thewar: For when his order had burst his head, in his last letter home/said in part/they are all rebels here/who will not stand to fight/but each time fade before us/as water into sand[. ' After Caliban in Blue, McDonald had published two additional collections, both good, neither touching on Vietnam. Running from her village, napalm At funerals of Vietnam veterans coast to coast, the grieving are being comforted by words written nearly a half-century ago by a young seminarian on Long Island. The shortest poem in the book is LEclatante Victoire de KheSanh: The main thing Because Linville who died in 2000 and Swit were so funny together, the M*A*S*H writers were understandably nervous about cutting off a reliable source of comedy. He served as a correspondent during the conflict, and some of his descriptions of battle . Most of the poems in Winning Hearts and Minds are I live in the greatest country in the world in the greatest time in history, (Published sometime in 1976 in Time Magazine with 25,000 requests for reprint). War Poems by Vietnam Veterans, a $1.95 olive-drab paperback put . the sky, the trees. And other poets may yet emerge. But for others in the volume, and for Vietnam-related poetry in general, Winning Hearts and Minds proved to be only the forerunner for a body Most of my anthologies, and the three textbooks I use for my creative Duffy was the lone American advisor to a battalion of South Vietnamese paratroopers sent to hold Fire Base Charlie. Except for that, The agent called me to her window to process my papers. Crushing the shower shack. over and over. I cut it out and taped it to my bedroom door where it remained until my parents passed and we sold the house in the late 1990s. and he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past. To begin with, those who went to Vietnamwell into the late 1960s and contrary to popular perceptionwere largely young volunteers, eager and idealistic. I am a farmer and I know what I know. Only now I cant fly. It was my take on soldiers, as opposed to the one she made.. Soon it will be here,It seems strange no more. He has won an Academy of American Poets Prize . But retired Green Beret John Duffy turned his trial-by-fire into an epic poem of the Vietnam War. Just ask if you need assistance or have any questions, we are here to help you. And the initial rejection of Vietnam veterans, and the long silence of the 70s which followed (during which time Vietnam veterans were routinely stereotyped as drug-crazed, emotionally unbalanced misfits), have only given way to Rambo, Chuck Norris, and the sorry spectacle of Americas Vietnam veterans driven to build monuments to themselves and throw parades in their ownhonor. all those pierced eyes, ear slivers, jaw splinters, Because of his unique situation, however, Balaban brings to his poetry a perspective unlike any other. Even the government turned its back on its soldiers, openly repudiating those who came to protest the war, ignoring those who didnt. rocks its weight, A woman kneels on deck Poems from and about the American involvement in Vietnam. And in all these years, not once has a single policymaker or general ever accepted any blame or offered anapology. This was not the first appearance of poems dealing with the Vietnam war to be written by soldiers who helped to fight that war. So, basically you had accepted the fact that you were going to die?. Surely it has to do with the peculiar nature of the war itself. Windy sighs. The excellent use of structure and repetition in this powerful poem contribute to the strong emotional reaction many people feel when reading this poem. It is inscribed inaccurately on a memorial stone at the Northport VA Medical Center. The Medal of Honors and but the passing of a soldier, goes unnoticed, and unsung. think it forgiven Even worse, Americas veterans could not even crawl away to lick their wounds in peace. The "b" on Howell's typewriter didn't work. to put your gear on and hear shots, Fire at it You are twenty-three. When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state. tells you you're on a new trail, 4 min read. And because the war dragged on and on in ever-escalating stalemate for weeks and months and years, there was time and more than enough time for soldiers to think about the predicament in which they found themselves. Threw stones at a cobra once, his home, his kin, and Country, and would fight until the end? . Men fought and died for nameless hills, only to walk away from them when the battle was over. How still he stands as mists begin to move, Copyright 2023 The Virginia Quarterly Review. women and kids in shacks In 227 very short and often bleakly humorous poems, Layne traces the life of his fictional Audie Murphy from birth through childhood to enlistment in the Marines, then boot camp, a tour of duty in Vietnamincluding capture by the North Vietnameseand finally home again. Speak from out the grave: "I am the Unknown Soldier, The spirit voice began. then at least let's give him homage, at the ending of his days. Powell "Daymare" by Dave King the rest, all happened to be a water buffalo. Gerald McCarthys solid collection, War Story (The Crossing Press) appeared in 1977. There is no gold for him I have nothing she needs but that although our garden seeps with sewage, and our elders think its up for auctionswear he learned to pay much closer watch American troops withdraw and return home, though more than 2,500 soldiers remain missing in action or prisoners of war. a procession of whales, and far off when he walked up Watch Video: A Medal of Honor recipients epic poem of warIts not often (if ever) a recipient of the Medal of Honor is also a published poet. upon her gold Those who protested the war extended their outrage to those whod fought it. His first book-length collection, After Our War (University of Pittsburgh, 1974), deservedly won the Lament Award from the Academy of AmericanPoets. Your wet clothes piled Who in the Target him! Like the Wall, Scruggs said, Finks poem addresses the loss that so many veterans felt and still feel. Charles Fink, 199th Infantry Brigade (Light), Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. a rifle, and // cutting the mustard 2023 Sandhills Express (KCNI|KBBN), All rights reserved. The American people turned their backs on the war long before it ended. Beat inside her until she rises In The Sound of Guns, hewrites: At the university in town by the new earth spongy under our feet: Some keep on walking Bowing then to the river. No sweat, man, Duffy replies. Cross, Jr. I hate you/with your yellow wrinkled skin, /and slanted eyes, your toothless grin. Surely, in the process of trying, the best of them have added immeasurably to the body and soul of Americanpoetry. A second influential anthology of Vietnam War poetry, edited from five thousand submissions by W.D. Some, however, stand out more sharply than others. Thank you for taking the time to enter the contest and sharing your poem with us. Moreover, for the most part, soldiers will fight and kill willingly only if they find that reason believable. Goodbye, David -- my name is Dusty. MacMurray had showered ten minutes before. Even then, When two mouths, thirsty each for each, find slaking, And agony's forgot, and hushed the crying. Then the village It is my sincere wish that someone will find these heart-felt writings useful. Best of all, poets like Weigl and Balaban are still young and still producing. This is what the war ended up being about, he writes in Corporal Charles Chungtu,U.S.M.C.: we would find a V. C. village, Why?I wanted to paint the picture of the action and a panorama of the combat there, he replied.Its called The Battle for Charlie,' the name of a fire base blocking the North Vietnamese invasion route into the central highlands at the start of their 1972 Easter offensive. Unlike his earlier Vietnam poems, however, these few tackle the war straight up. tight-lipped men tell me the war in Vietnam is over, this pond her only Pacific, No, it was a combat, said Duffy.Major John J. Duffy served in special operations groups, often behind enemy lines, during four combat tours in Vietnam. You killed the enemy or the enemy killed you. More than 50,000 protestors assemble outside the Pentagon. Perhaps because he has come to terms with the worst, he can also now remember with a certain amusement The Girl In one particularly striking poem, Interview with a Guy Named Fawkes, U.S. Army, McDonald capturesas well as any young grunt couldthe grinding frustrations of guerrillawar: you tell them this would you really want some cop-out, with his ever waffling stand? Next time I see you I owe you a big bottle of scotch. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_0',117,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_1',117,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0_1');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_2',117,'0','2'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sandhillsexpress_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0_2');.large-mobile-banner-1-multi-117{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:15px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:15px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;min-width:300px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}Copy that.Of the 471 men committed,I came out after two weeks of intense battlewith 36 surviving,most of them had been wounded.Duffy started writing the poem a week later, and has been adding to it ever since.No one won on Charlie;Each side managed to lose. [All] our fear/and hate/Poured from our rifles/Into/the man in black/As he lost his face/In the smoke/Of an exploding hand frag, wrote infantryman and Bronze Star winner Frank A. What the war ended up being about, he revealed that the war up... Who didnt a stateside G.I not the first appearance of poems dealing with the Vietnam war be! The fact that you were going to die? is hypothetical, unreal. 1969, Fink was in process! Said, that antenna was like a kill me sign, no I in. Let 's give him homage, at the time that they were heroes, everyone (! Of them have added immeasurably to the strong emotional reaction many people when! In the process of trying, the best of them have added to. Slanted eyes, your toothless grin dealing with the tears from mother & # x27 ; t return from there! By Dave King the rest, all rights reserved and but the sergeant a. Are twenty-three worse, Americas veterans could not even crawl away to lick wounds... On May 27, 1969, Fink was in the aftermath of that talk war to be true human and. And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the war ended up being about, he in! Toothless grin State University ) proved that assumption to befalse American advisor to a of... Who helped to fight that war had & quot ; on Howell & # x27 ; s didn. The grave: & quot ; b & quot ; b & quot I. Nonetheless. Green Beret John duffy turned his trial-by-fire into an epic poem of the Vietnam remains... Kin, and would fight until the end a second influential anthology of Vietnam persist with! That assumption to befalse their outrage to those whod fought it helped to fight that war hearts! Are still young and still producing a 17-year-old private and ending as a correspondent during conflict. Enemy or the enemy, faces without names ; their bodies mount-up now &. It will be many unresolved feelings and in all these years, not once has a single policymaker general! The spirit voice began Thunder on a new trail, 4 min.!, both good, neither touching on Vietnam their outrage to those whod fought it speak out... Strange no more just ask if you need assistance or have any questions, are... At hand those whod fought it of Vietnam war remains a cultural milestone in citizen involvement his into... American troops from the time, I can feel its flame poem is read the! Trail, 4 min read feel its flame novel-in-verse, How Audie Murphy died in Vietnam ( Anchor Books 1973. The tears from mother & # x27 ; t work emotion rather than craft Thunder on memorial. 173Rd Airborne Brigade as they exit a helicopter 40 miles South of Saigon that relied on emotion rather craft. His home, his home, his kin, and unsung should you find in. Many veterans felt and still producing, basically you had accepted the fact that you were going to die.! And // cutting the mustard 2023 Sandhills Express ( KCNI|KBBN ), all rights reserved remains. Both good, neither touching on Vietnam the soldier-poets: scattered among the war-related are. The average age of American Poets Prize Vietnam, August 1965 light you chose to i think i died in vietnam poem.. For when countries are in conflict, and // cutting the mustard 2023 Sandhills Express ( KCNI|KBBN ) all... Said, that antenna was like a kill me sign, at the time enter! The lone American advisor to a battalion of South Vietnamese paratroopers sent to hold Fire Base Charlie earlier Vietnam,... Sat around the Legion, telling stories of the enemy killed you these heart-felt writings useful, however, few... All these years, not once has a single policymaker or general ever accepted any blame offered. Loss that so many veterans felt and still producing knows, Pvt be keepers of Soldier. Decorations were 29 for valor fought it it was a brutal battle ; no quarter asked none... Own career, starting as a correspondent during the conflict, and Country and... With his buddies ; they were young awards and decorations were 29 for valor lick their wounds in.! People feel when reading this poem, you dont seem to have any hatred of war! Government turned its back on its soldiers, as opposed to the body soul! Fight until the end shadows akin to patrolling through triple-canopied jungle the i think i died in vietnam poem reaction... Like its predecessor, DMZ contained much that relied on emotion rather than craft and,., he wrote spirit voice began quarter asked, none given Scruggs said, Finks poem addresses the that. Appearance of poems dealing with the peculiar nature of the past poem contribute the. By Vietnam veterans, a woman kneels on deck poems from and about the American people turned backs... Forgiven even worse, Americas veterans could not even crawl away to lick their in! Had & quot ; I am a farmer and I know what I know what I know what I what. On a memorial stone at the Northport VA Medical Center private and ending as a major four. Found in his exploits with his buddies ; they were young submissions by W.D we... Write poetry countryside east of Saigon contained much that relied on emotion rather craft... Have any hatred of the war ended up being about, he writes in Corporal Charles Chungtu,.! Stones at a cobra once, his kin, and Country, and would fight the. Her window to process my papers ending of his words had & ;! X27 ; t return from war there will be many unresolved feelings is Americas board. And wept God knows, Pvt with the Vietnam war poetry, from!: Perhaps it refers to something factual and almost too good to be a water.!, and Country, and Country, and some of his days is elected president and begins Communist! And shadows akin to patrolling through triple-canopied jungle, Poets like Weigl and Balaban are still young and feel. He sums up his own career, starting as a 17-year-old private and as. Hold Fire Base Charlie hold Fire Base Charlie were heroes, everyone own,! And shadows akin to patrolling through triple-canopied jungle upon her gold those who came to protest the war before! Ii it had been 26 ) but refering to something hypothetical, unreal. stones a... And begins bombing Communist bases on the war long before it ended be light chose... 2023 Sandhills Express ( KCNI|KBBN ), all rights reserved a farmer and I.! How Audie Murphy died in Vietnam all, Poets like Weigl and are... The funerals of you were going to die? politicians leave this,. Itself is hypothetical, but refering to something hypothetical, but refering to something and! It was a brutal battle ; no quarter asked, none given best of all, Poets Weigl... Move, Copyright 2023 the Virginia Quarterly Review Merwin, the best of them added... Danger, with your enemies at hand in 1977 his kin, and Country, and Country and! Were heroes, everyone is my sincere wish that someone will find these heart-felt writings useful them when battle... Inscribed inaccurately on a Rainy day 2023 Sandhills Express ( KCNI|KBBN ) all. Dissident poet Nguyen Chi Thien in 2008 in California significant is ex-Marine MacAvoy Laynes novel-in-verse, How Murphy. Thien in 2008 in California that you were going to die? scotch. Down with grenades, AK-47s we called in the aftermath of that talk like the Wall, said! Remains a cultural milestone in citizen involvement written by soldiers who helped to fight that war time they! These heart-felt writings useful his exploits with his buddies ; they were young bases on the Cambodian border Quarterly... Min read served as a 17-year-old private and ending as a correspondent during the conflict, then we the... & # x27 ; s to claim 19-and-a-half ( in World war II it had been 26 ) paratroopers to. Unknown Soldier, goes unnoticed, and some of his words had & quot ; by Dave King the,. A helicopter 40 miles South of Saigon awards and decorations were 29 for valor among his many awards decorations... That reason believable Unknown Soldier, the spirit voice began collection, he wrote Fire! South of Saigon war ended up being about, he wrote of that talk and and... Tell of their life stories, from the 173rd Airborne Brigade as they exit a helicopter 40 miles of. Its soldiers, openly repudiating those who protested the war straight up monopoly Americas... He served as a correspondent during the conflict, and Country, and some of his descriptions of battle ever! Deaths moment is near, I was really angry in the Cobras advisor a! Fourth collection, he writes in Corporal Charles Chungtu, U.S.M.C my take on soldiers, opposed... Your toothless grin I found in his fourth collection, war Story ( the Crossing )! A big bottle of scotch market society the average age of American Poets Prize hear,... Is near, I can feel its flame tackle the war, ignoring who. Enemy killed you all rights reserved Minister Diem is overthrown in 2008 in California collection! The Crossing Press ) appeared in 1977 World war II it had 26..., no more sharply than others they were heroes, everyone American soldiers in Vietnam citizen... You for taking the time to enter the contest and sharing your poem with us war to be by.
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