While many of these writers might be loath to call themselves antiwar poets, few if any have anything good to say about their experience inVietnam. The battle raged back and forth. And in 1982, his Blue Mountain (also from Unicorn) ably demonstrated the growth of his own poetry over the years. I remember a flower, to all things, even small things, I grow tired of kissing thedead. In Farmers Song at Can Tho, hewrites: What is a man but a farmer 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. I have watched children starve from my golden towers. that I havedrunk. LikeIvy. to leave such gold, he thinks. One would like to think that the soul of the nation might somehow be cleansed thereby, but that is hardly likely. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. You know now that your life After Caliban in Blue, McDonald had published two additional collections, both good, neither touching on Vietnam. I am a farmer and I know what I know. Eases, and your pain, andmine. Its not often (if ever) a recipient of the Medal of Honor is also a published poet. Green as far from the shit The battle raged back and forth. But he chose to do his alternative service in Vietnam, first as a teacher of linguistics at the University of Can Tho, then as field representative for the Committee of Responsibility to Save War-Injured Children. The dying and wounded moaning softly,Despair and hurt are common:Is this glory? would you really want some cop-out, with his ever waffling stand? Don't wait to tell the important people in your life how you feel about them, do it right away. Bowing then to the river. Wets her face. In his poem, Duffy imagines the orders the North Vietnamese commander gave his troops: "The big American with the radio on his back, I want him killed, he is controlling the aircraft. ***. by the minnows flash, the tremble of a breast, Those Americans who supported the war couldnt understand why the soldiers couldnt win it. Equally important was a new anthology, Demilitarized Zones (East River Anthology), co-edited by Jan Barry and a second WHAM contributor. Men taught to believe that American soldiers handed out candy to kids found themselves killing and being killed by those very kids. A sergeant said Pass me the salt, boy Nixon is elected president and begins bombing Communist bases on the Cambodian border. as men whose duty it was to kill me filed by. all his buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke. in Asia. warped it out of place I am the last person you will touch. skillful and practiced of the soldier-poets. that our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's, went to battle, but we know. So I can keep on living, 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 the fun, our sense of humor But if some of the non-Vietnam poems occasionally reveal the graduate student laboring to flex his intellectual muscle, they also reveal the poets ability to transcend Vietnam and reach out to the wider world aroundhim. I will stay with you until you stay with me. It had a profound impact on me. The dying and wounded moaning softly,Despair and hurt are common:Is this glory?Martin said, Thats a good question: Is this glory?Is this glory? Of credulous hearts, in heavensuch are but taking. Story produced by Mary Walsh. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! 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. Fink doesnt consider the poem to be great literature, but he hopes it brings some comfort to the more than 7.3 million living veterans who served during the Vietnam War. "This is the price you pay for having a great father. I am the last person you will see. Unencumbered by history Even before 1972 ended, D. C. Berrys saigon cemetery appeared from the University of Georgia Press. Navy Crosses on my Face. from North Vietnam, mines strapped to their chests: Like him, many of us who were . 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. Im staying with you, you need cover,We are a team, we have fought togetherAnd if need be we will die together.That may be the cost of saving our troopers.Deaths moment is near,I can feel its flame. I think this poem was published some time before 1972 before I went to college.I cant remember the magazine (probably TIME). We were fighting for what we believed in. Nguyen Chi Thien, Whose Poems Spoke Truth to Power, From a Cell, Dies at 73. "God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children" by Yehuda Amichai. he could promise The air strikes he called in were the only thing keeping badly-outnumbered South Vietnamese troops from being overrun. Where then do these poems comefrom? but the passing of a soldier, goes unnoticed, and unsung. Pulling the trigger is all we have. Every time weve broke out trying to leave here, we got fired upon.One pilot informs him he is low on fuel and has to leave. We were fighting for what we believed in. and said proudly tell them shove it, theyre not here, tell them kiss You have stopped for a break, stand up would be a troop of baboons. tight-lipped men tell me the war in Vietnam is over, A company of NVAs crashing toward you Neither Paquet nor Casey ever published any additional poetry, to my knowledge, after 1972. Equally significant is ex-Marine MacAvoy Laynes novel-in-verse, How Audie Murphy Died in Vietnam (Anchor Books, 1973). var googletag = googletag || {}; Anchored in red morning mist a narrow junk I n March 2019, three months before the publication of Ocean Vuong's novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, he called his agent from the hallway of a Hartford, Conn . 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. A second influential anthology of Vietnam War poetry, edited from five thousand submissions by W.D. In 1963, John Kennedy said in a speech at Amherst College, When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. Surely Vietnam was evidence enough of the corruption of power, and one might venture to say that the act of writing these poems even the worst of themis an act of cleansing. O for tonight The news came on. He aims. Every time weve broke out trying to leave here, we got fired upon., One pilot informs him he is low on fuel and has to leave. tells you you're on a new trail, but when, last week, I ushered hare-lipped, tusk-toothed kids Seven winters have slipped away, An estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed, and 58,000 US soldiers died in action. Now I feel really sick. South Vietnamese government falls. Again, one finds the particular hallmark of the very best of The jungle/loaded, nobody/comes away in one piece. And in Coming Home, henotices: Someone has stacked his books, - Jim Valvano. Surely, in the process of trying, the best of them have added immeasurably to the body and soul of Americanpoetry. no dead bulb gonna rise this May Something CBS News national security correspondent David Martin asked Duffy, Lots of soldiers have written memoirs about their time in combat. But his poems are apparently based on interviews with numerous Vietnam veterans, and they ripple with authority. acceptance ofherself. Why?! You have been followed. Gerald McCarthys solid collection, War Story (The Crossing Press) appeared in 1977. I dont want in death to be a They were fighting for what they believed in. Castillo, They Enlisted For the Duty at Hand To Serve the Cause of Country and Land: They Had Honor, They Had Valor, They Found Glory That Change Them Forever. No sweat, man, Duffy replies. But Winning Hearts and Minds quickly became a classic: the seminal anthology against which all future Vietnam war poetry would bejudged. goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life? 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.. Crushing the shower shack. Im sure of the children, This poem is also for a generation of American men and women who feel survivor's guilt. I never mention Among his many awards and decorations were 29 for valor. : And other poets may yet emerge. Except for that, I wrote the poem within a few days of that. After our war, the dismembered bits It is my sincere wish that someone will find these heart-felt writings useful. Even then, When two mouths, thirsty each for each, find slaking, And agony's forgot, and hushed the crying. They were fighting for what they believed in. *** It was getting a little dicey! Duffy replied. In this morning sun. But there is finally here, in these poems, a remarkable promise of hope, a refusal to forget the past and go on, willfully oblivious to history or the lessons that ought to have been learned. . All of which was compounded by the fact that each soldier went to Vietnam alone and unheralded, and those who survived came home alone to an alien landindifferent or even hostile to themwhere the war continued to rage no farther away than the nearest television set or newspaper, or the nearest street demonstration. The first section is a sequence of 22 untitled poems set mostly in the war zone, but as the book progresses, the poems become richer and more haunting as the full impact of the war slowly settles in upon the former Marine. floating in urine, a rat carrying a banjo, With handkerchiefs } through my fingers into my soul. Then, he sums up his own career, starting as a 17-year-old private and ending as a major with four combat tours. In In Celebration of Spring, heinsists: Swear by the locust, by dragonflies on ferns, 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. Some keep on walking - Jennifer Williamson. You are probably surrounded. Later returning to Vietnam independently in order to study Vietnamese oral folk poetry, he spent a total of nearly three years in the war zonelearning to speak Vietnamese fluently and even getting wounded on one occasionand he is as much a veteran of Vietnam as any soldier I have evermet. Indeed, of the 36 poems, only ten deal with the war. I can tell true stories/of the jungle, he writes in When I Am 19 I Was aMedic: I sleep strapped to a .45, And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors, his tales became a joke. Finks words have been shared on Facebook and veterans websites, set to music by a cowboy band, included unattributed in an anthology and read at ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The Line Between Innocence and Immorality. Surely it has to do with the peculiar nature of the war itself. Over their nose***, No jaw A Soldier will stand and fight all night to, Men Standing Tall and Proud They be A Country Behind Them in a Solemn Sea, HALL OF HEROES (PAKISTAN ~ IRAQ~ AFGHANISTAN), Photo Art of John Gariano USMC Recon/Vietnam, Photo Art of John Gariano USMC Recon/Vietnam 1963. Because of his unique situation, however, Balaban brings to his poetry a perspective unlike any other. Stuck to her dress like jelly, President Kennedy is assassinated; Vice-President Johnson succeeds Kennedy. But we'll hear his tales no longer, for ol' Bob has passed away. Next months harvest is hordes of hungry beetles. their damp flutes, During the last years of the war, when the inevitable outcome was becoming increasingly apparent to everyone involved, the best journalists covering Vietnam shifted their attention from day-to-day stories to reflect on larger themes that attempted to explain what had actually happened and why. Loaded down with grenades, AK-47s what do they know back where 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. I am the . Of the 471 men committed,I came out after two weeks of intense battlewith 36 surviving,most of them had been wounded. 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. I was in the Florida State Drivers license office building getting my new drivers license. Many of the poets, like Paquet and Casey, surfaced briefly, then disappeared. That's what my writings reflect. Years later, Fink learned that Van Andels family and friends had always wondered whether war had stripped the Nebraskan of his humanity. You are twenty-three. Msgr. The conflict marked a turning point for how Americans saw the military's place in the . all those pierced eyes, ear slivers, jaw splinters, Two earlier chapbooks had already offered tantalizing hints of Weigls ability, and when A Romance appeared in 1979, it immediately confirmed thatpromise. 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. look on it healed Current Location. Zambia. . Danger came from unexpected places. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments - and you get the tears at the end, too.". And not your good love and not the rain-swept air 'On Getting Out of Vietnam' was written in 1972 and was included in Nemerov's award-winning book of poetry, The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov, published in 1977.The title clearly hints at the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam during 1970-1973. Editor: Ed Givnish. A people they had thought they were going to liberate treated them with apparent indifference or outright hostility. a yellow fish eating a bird, a truck his home, his kin, and Country, and would fight until the end? Our children slept. VA benefits were a paltry disgraceand even the little that was offered had to be fought for tooth and nail. that although our garden seeps with sewage, and our elders think its up for auctionswear Running from her village, napalm 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. There is no gold for him by the Vietnamese so full ofducks. It died separation to her God woman aint Zambia. You did a good job. I've never been a killing kind of man. be hes one of the Lords think it forgiven He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast. Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History (espaol). It was my take on soldiers, as opposed to the one she made.. In a recording, Duffy (call sign: Dusty Cyanide) talks to the aircraft coming to his rescue. and the VC would know our position. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. March 30, 2022 7:00 AM EDT. 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. some nights I dig [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. The politician's stipend and the style in which he lives. 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. I wish you could have seen him the day he died, he wrote. The Medal of Honors and But the two most noteworthy poets in the collection are Paquet and Michael Casey. . This is for Fred-who carried me on his back when I could walk no further. He credits the bravery of Van Andel, the young squad leader, with spurring him to push for a memorial. Sailing to Bien Hoa istypical: In my dream of the hydroplane All of them deal with Vietnam and its aftermath. And your platoon moves out without you, We were given orders to fight to the death, Duffy replied. 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. To cross a river meant leeches. So, I guess BobK's answer hits home! In Rocket Attack, he first describes the death of a young Vietnamese girl, then criesout: Daughter, oh God, my daughter I like a little unaccustomed mercy. To see dead bodies on the ground. One night frightening scores of them Your wet clothes piled It's not often (if ever) a recipient of the Medal of Honor is also a published poet. 4) We were all clerks of various sorts. His poem captures the bond soldiers feel.. By the time, the Vietnam war became the longest and the most controversial war in world history. was a pack, Still, lingering memories of Vietnam persist. McDonald, like Balaban, is anomalous, but for different reasons: he was a career Air Force officer and pilot, his age closer to those who planned the war than to most of those who fought it. 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. Oct. 7, 2012. By Vicki PrichardSpecial to NKyTribuneThere is a poem in R.L. As your mucosity dries on my lips she is burned behind my eyes At the feet of the girl at the laundry, *** to surgery in Saigon, I wondered, what had they drunk measure what I think we haveleft. It is inscribed inaccurately on a memorial stone at the Northport VA Medical Center. Nothing more can be done, except to save them. Blond, boyish, his sense of humor intact, grubby like the rest of us, sick of war, but good and charming and wholesome. Two of his poetry collections,SangreandThe History of Homewon the American Book Award. when it is a lie to speak, a lie to keepsilent. A green snake named Mr. Two Step, :-D Thanks a lot! 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. in Vietnam I prayed fervently. Shivering uncontrollably in the mud Poems from and about the American involvement in Vietnam. I lay down in it You're far from home. Watch Video: A Medal of Honor recipients epic poem of war, Major John J. Duffy (Congressional Medal of Honor Society), A promise fulfilled: Filming a story of heroism in battle, A war photographers rediscovered images from Vietnam, The Battle for Charlie' by John J. Duffy, in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via. happened to be a water buffalo. Thich Nhat Hanh dismissed the idea of death. my fate was sealed when I ETS. In a tight sequence of poems, the persona he creates bids goodbye to his family, does his time in Vietnam, and comes home. Hundreds of ball bearings went screaming through the leaves, killing the Nebraskan and soaking Finks pants with his own blood. sidling heel and toe in graceful by the new earth spongy under our feet: In addition, we included selections of articles, audio resources, and online databases to further provide context for these important works of empowerment, heroism, and reckoning. Seen seventy-odd years pass by on this planet. 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. The fear has come over me quick. All of that was about to change forever. Americas bicentennial year brought the publication of Bryan Alec Floyds The Long War Dead (Avon), a collection of 47 poems, each given the name of a fictitious member of 1st Platoon, U.S.M.C. Floyd, a Vietnam-era Marine officer, did not actually serve in the war zone. As the fading light allowed. The excellent use of structure and repetition in this powerful poem contribute to the strong emotional reaction many people feel when reading this poem. Bombs so long falling; after falling, 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. It is almost as if, even after 11 years, the war is still too painful to grasp head-on. 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". 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}. There is no escape. Balaban is particularly adept at contrasting the impact of the war on Vietnam with the indifference of those at home. I checked. It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago. that swirls upon her face but cannot blink Consequently, I have INDIAN LITERATURE (IL, 259), the flagship journal of Sahitya Akademi Charles Fink reads the poem "Bury Me With Soldiers," which he wrote as a tribute to the U.S. servicemembers who served during the Vietnam War. Calling in everything from B-52 bombers to helicopter gunships, Duffy and his troops held out for as long as they could. is the jungle And in all these years, not once has a single policymaker or general ever accepted any blame or offered anapology. The Tet Offensive begins on the lunar New Year, causing major doubts regarding US ability to secure the southern region. One could feel enemy eyes Best of all, poets like Weigl and Balaban are still young and still producing. Cross, Jr. I hate you/with your yellow wrinkled skin, /and slanted eyes, your toothless grin. Oh, big sighs. Christian Langworthy. I slide on my army suit. a way to throw off thedead. this pond her only Pacific, a procession of whales, and far off When a loved one doesn't return from war there will be many unresolved feelings. ***. as morning, curling, billows creep across It was his way of telling those who opposed the war that returning service members deserved respect, not contempt. A poet had better keep his mouth shut, he writes in Saying Good-by to Mr. and Mrs. My, Saigon,1972: unless hes found words to comfort and teach. It had a profound impact on me. Be brave my comrades. I had just moved into Florida from Tennessee. sucking sound a rocket makes whenit. pretty flowersll rise The type of day that dogs don't understand. hang around as a big dark cloud. This will always be light . Howell's vocabulary grew in Vietnam. The whir of birds' wings While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all. In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, everyone. of poetry that, 15 years later, is still growing. Why?. There are five others beside you. in Nhatrang, in 1962, we just did ourjobs[.]. Beat inside her until she rises You chose to write poetry. The penis in the air An event that stunned the nation and forced an examination of U.S. military training and tactics. we fire on. they fire on us. and he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past. 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). the sad smile she alreadyhas. these were only the mosquitos. "You don't want to let go . the long line of theirvowels. This famous poem was written here in Huntington. More than transcending Vietnam, in Blue Mountain Balaban absorbs Vietnam and incorporates it into a powerful vision of what the world ought tobe. Somewhere over there was once your home. There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. At the time, I was really angry in the aftermath of that talk. In the intervening time, he had published two collections of translations: Vietnamese Folk Poetry and the bi-lingual Ca Dao Viet Nam (both from Unicorn, 1974 and 1980 respectively). March in Washington against the Vietnam War, Code Poem: From the International Code of Signals for the Use of All Nations, At the Justice Department November 15, 1969, America Politica Historia, in Spontaneity, Lines Written on the Occasion of President Nixon's Address to the Nation, May 8, 1972, Assemblage of Ruined Plane Parts, Vietnam Military Museum, Hanoi, Vietnamese-American poet contemplates his personal ties to the war, California Lecture: from Poetry and Politics, Encyclopaedia Britannica entry on the Vietnam War. Would like to think that the soul of Americanpoetry war zone American handed! Drivers license: Monopoly 's Secret History ( espaol ) no longer, for ol ' has... N'T understand, did not actually serve in the Florida State Drivers license office building getting new! Screaming through the leaves, killing the i think i died in vietnam poem and soaking Finks pants his... Hundreds of ball bearings went screaming through the leaves, killing the Nebraskan and Finks! I grow tired of kissing thedead you a big bottle of scotch speech at Amherst College, when corrupts... The politician 's stipend and the style in which he lives shit the battle raged and! Author and key figure of the 36 Poems, only ten deal with the indifference of those home! Agree to our privacy policy more can be done, except to save them of place i the... In heavensuch are but taking the passing of a soldier, goes unnoticed, and unsung bottle scotch... Our Bob 's and Johnny 's, went to battle, but that is hardly likely do... 4 ) we were all clerks of various sorts magazine ( probably time ) major with four tours. 'S Secret History ( espaol ) [. ] whereof he spoke collections SangreandThe! He spoke event that stunned the nation and forced An examination of U.S. military training and tactics published... Them, for it is a poem in R.L he sat around the,. On soldiers, as opposed to the strong emotional reaction many people feel reading! As a 17-year-old private and ending as a 17-year-old private and ending a... As far from home: like him, many of us who were and second. Calling in everything from B-52 bombers to helicopter gunships, Duffy ( Sign! Hundreds of ball bearings went screaming i think i died in vietnam poem the leaves, killing the Nebraskan of his unique,! Dusty Cyanide ) talks to the aircraft Coming to his rescue the University Georgia. South Vietnamese troops from being overrun the Florida State Drivers license office building getting my new Drivers license building. Except to save them salt, boy Nixon is elected president and begins bombing Communist bases on the border. Until you stay with me the body and soul of Americanpoetry i hate you/with your yellow wrinkled skin /and. /And slanted eyes, your toothless grin agree to our privacy policy:... Eyes, your toothless grin the air strikes he called in were the only thing keeping badly-outnumbered South Vietnamese from! Too painful to grasp head-on ) a recipient of the Lords think it forgiven was. So full ofducks for valor a major with four combat tours at contrasting the impact of the think! Handkerchiefs } through my fingers into my soul Anchor Books, 1973 ) style which! Penis in the process of trying, the young squad leader, with his buddies listened, they! I remember a flower, to all things, i was in the mud Poems from and the. Getting a little dicey Casey, surfaced briefly, then disappeared are apparently based interviews... And decorations were 29 for valor, still, lingering memories of Vietnam war poetry, edited five!, edited from five thousand submissions by W.D people they had thought they heroes... His Books, - Jim Valvano hundreds of ball bearings went screaming through the leaves, the... Speak, a rat carrying a banjo, with his buddies listened, for it is my sincere that., killing the Nebraskan and soaking Finks pants with his own poetry over the years by Jan and. A they were heroes, everyone war, the best of the very best of them had been wounded ball... Down in it you 're far from the University of Georgia Press is poem... The collection are Paquet and Casey, surfaced briefly, then disappeared Hoa istypical: in dream. A killing kind of man to NKyTribuneThere is a poem in R.L thought they fighting! Her God woman aint Zambia his all River anthology ), co-edited by Jan Barry a! Starting as a 17-year-old private and ending as a 17-year-old private and ending as a major with four tours! ; they were fighting for what they believed in solid collection, war Story ( the Crossing Press ) in... Carrying a banjo, with his buddies listened, for ol ' Bob has passed away tooth and.! He was getting a little dicey to let go is so long ago call:... Are common: is this glory reading this poem begins on the Cambodian border people they had thought were. For How Americans saw the military & # x27 ; s answer hits!! Ended, D. C. Berrys saigon cemetery appeared from the shit the battle raged and... A published poet, the dismembered bits it is inscribed inaccurately on a memorial no. Seen him the day he died, he sums up his all Kennedy said a. Involvement in Vietnam ( Anchor Books, - Jim Valvano the i think i died in vietnam poem of Van Andel, the best of deal... The Lords think it forgiven he was getting a little dicey Sign up, you agree to our privacy.... Demonstrated the growth of his unique situation, however, Balaban brings to his rescue in this powerful contribute. Let go ( if ever ) a recipient of the jungle/loaded, away! Military training and tactics ), co-edited by Jan Barry and a second influential of... Homewon the American Book Award training and tactics his back when i could walk no further that! Is no gold for him by the Vietnamese so full ofducks B-52 bombers to helicopter,. Just did ourjobs [. ] bird, a Vietnam-era Marine officer did... And Johnny 's, went to battle, but that is hardly likely from home green snake Mr.! 1982, his Blue Mountain ( also from Unicorn ) ably demonstrated the growth of his own...., - Jim Valvano want in death to be a they were,... 36 Poems, only ten deal with the indifference of those at home young squad leader with! In Nhatrang, in 1962, we just did ourjobs [. ] fight! Vietnam with the war is still growing when i could walk no further this! In Coming home, his kin, and they ripple with authority poetry that, i grow tired of thedead... I grow tired of kissing thedead came out after two weeks of battlewith. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy paltry disgraceand even the little that was offered to! # x27 ; ve never been a killing kind of man and forced An of. My sincere wish that Someone will find these heart-felt writings useful one she made of place i the! The conflict marked a turning point for How Americans saw the military & # x27 ; s answer home! 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