The Forgotten Soldier

It was 1968, a year to remember
Setting sail soon, be in Nam by late December

I was just 19, new and fresh
Only 3 months in and I'm used to the smell of rotting flesh

I remember the book I traded for a gun
But back then it seemed all in fun

At first it was the planes dropping bombs, letting them explode
Then came the troops marching along the road

The villages fell by twos and threes
I saw the innocent people, desperate to flee

As the war went on and time crept by
I suddenly started to question why?

But as the fighting drew on, no answer came
All there was were broken corpses and no one to blame

Back home they called for our return
But we stayed here in this Hell to burn

Finally they said peace with honor but had figures that lied
To cover up their failures, to shadow those who died

Their sins and sorrows of lost causes
Still did not rectify all of the human losses

The jungle surrounds me, a cloudless sky above
I'm still not sure who won, hawks or doves

A gun fires overhead
I look to the left, another one dead

My life flashes before my eyes,
I wonder how many people I didn't tell goodbye

Cold metal falls against my chest
I reach for the chain inside my vest

There at the end of the rusted old rope
Hangs a simple little ring, its blue stone shining with my last hope

Really its just a small token from my grandmother past
But for me it's a warm love that'll always last

The earth stands still, as the lights go dim
However my friends, your fate is far more grim

Here I am now, high above the ground
While you carry on, fighting another round