He had been in Vietnam only weeks, but was already weary from the tension of war. a way to throw off thedead. You killed the enemy or the enemy killed you. to remember on a rain-soaked day such as this. I like a little unaccustomed mercy. Copyright 2023 Newsday. Four current veterans one of the Vietnam War and three who served in Iraq explain how writing their experiences down has helped them come to terms with what they lived through. I am the last person you will touch. "This is the price you pay for having a great father. cannons twice as fast as the old gunships. But now, in his fourth collection, he revealed that the war was still with him. and bent I drag it along that although our garden seeps with sewage, and our elders think its up for auctionswear Some of the poems are as short asGuns: When the M-16 rifle had a stoppage, Then the village Literate without being literary, Paquet was, at the time, far and away the most Well, the phrase itself IS hypothetical, but refering to something factual and almost too good to be true! Bowels and a heart that sings 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. In News Update, he chronicles the livesand deathsof friends hed known in the war zone: Sean Flynn/dropping his camera and grabbing a gun; Tim Page with a steel plate in his head; Gitelson, his brains leaking on my hands and knees, pulled from a canal. You have read 1 of 10 free articles in the past 30 days. To see dead bodies on the ground. - Jennifer Williamson. Her hands reaching for the no one 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. I dont want in death to be a Here we are at Vietnam. Is the greatest contribution, to the welfare of our land. But retired Green Beret John Duffy turned his trial-by-fire into an epic poem of the Vietnam War. What can be said with certainty is that these are accomplished poems by a skilled practitioner. You're far from home. No one couldve expected more from them. 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? In 2018, he returned home to Hue, in central Vietnam, to live out his last days at the Tu Hieu Temple, where he had become a novice as a teenager. With roses for the brave, And suddenly I heard a voice. 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. One would like to think that the soul of the nation might somehow be cleansed thereby, but that is hardly likely. 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. Wets her face. An event that stunned the nation and forced an examination of U.S. military training and tactics. He was just a common Soldier and his ranks are growing thin. Papers tell of their life stories, from the time that they were young. And the heat and the worthlessness that was not a village any more Out of the stomach American troops withdraw and return home, though more than 2,500 soldiers remain missing in action or prisoners of war. 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. Even before 1972 ended, D. C. Berrys saigon cemetery appeared from the University of Georgia Press. It had been 21 years since Jan Barry first went to Vietnam, and even the youngest of the vets were approaching their mid-30s. resurrection day No one couldve expected more from them. Men fought and died for nameless hills, only to walk away from them when the battle was over. Marines died in the jungles of South Vietnam While outside of country, the world moved on. It is my sincere wish that someone will find these heart-felt writings useful. he was the Like the Wall, Scruggs said, Finks poem addresses the loss that so many veterans felt and still feel. Christian Langworthy. Major John J. Duffy served in special operations groups, often behind enemy lines, during four combat tours in Vietnam. Nguyen Chi Thien, Whose Poems Spoke Truth to Power, From a Cell, Dies at 73. With the tears from mother's eyes. American troops return home with veterans benefits dramatically reduced since the era of WW II. Pasture unfolding before us can denyit. The poems are copyrighted, but can be used for any nonprofit reason with credits. There is no gold for him shivering uncontrollably in the mud. I will stay with you until you stay with me. I hear a child. The firefight that followed left most of the dozen or so U.S. troops either dead or wounded. It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago. with benediction In For Mrs. Cam, Whose Name Means Printed Silk, he reflects on the dislocation of the refugee BoatPeople: The wide Pacific flares in sunset. In Faraway Places, hewrites: This daughter watching ducks knows Ehrhart, the rebel son of a minister who had . An estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed, and 58,000 US soldiers died in action. The air strikes he called in were the only thing keeping badly-outnumbered South Vietnamese troops from being overrun. How can peace be in a greencountry? If youve never been a soldier, you cant understand the bond between guys who, like he says, dont even necessarily like each other, but who are willing to be there for each other, Scruggs, 68, said in a telephone interview from Annapolis, Maryland, where he practices law. 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 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. No one won on Charlie;Each side managed to lose. By Daniel H. Weiss. I wish you could have seen him the day he died, he wrote. And thats the essence of war.Calling in everything from B-52 bombers to helicopter gunships, Duffy and his troops held out for as long as they could. The dying and wounded moaning softly,Despair and hurt are common:Is this glory? Except for that, Katie Greeter Team Leader In The Sound of Guns, hewrites: At the university in town But retired Green Beret John Duffy turned his trial-by-fire into an epic poem of the Vietnam War. tells you you're on a new trail, 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. Never hear the horrible Like him, many of us who were . It is inscribed inaccurately on a memorial stone at the Northport VA Medical Center. Martin said, Thats a good question: Is this glory?, Is this glory? "Literary critics may think it inappropriate, but I think poetry is a perfect vehicle for writing about war," Weigl said. Or the ordinary fellow, who in times of war and strife. But Winning Hearts and Minds quickly became a classic: the seminal anthology against which all future Vietnam war poetry would bejudged. 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. Danger came from unexpected places. Then drops his aim. they fire on us. For more poems about war, consider the following: "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae. In Mines, hewrites: Here is how you walk at night: slowly lift Threat S.N. We were home finally going home. 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. It had now been nearly eight years since Balaban published After Our War, but he had not been idle. turned out to be a swarm of fireflies. never! Poems from and about the American involvement in Vietnam. Who plants his rice in season to a corporal, and he did. - Earnest Hemingway, (18991961). The shortest poem in the book is LEclatante Victoire de KheSanh: The main thing Crushing the shower shack. South Vietnamese government falls. His son had died nine thousand miles away, 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. Bobrowsky, Cross, and Purcell contribute powerful poems. I am the last person you will see. Fink ended up spending a year in Vietnam. So I can keep on living, I know what it is like to be so afraid Now I feel really sick. Strange prospect Zambia. "Memorial Day for the War Dead" by Yehuda Amichai. Of credulous hearts, in heavensuch are but taking. from North Vietnam, mines strapped to their chests: But his poems are wonderfully powerful, often intimately personal and sensitive. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! My situation is I got 37 personnel. The Line Between Innocence and Immorality. Oh, big sighs. 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