My apologies for the confusion I caused. I realized after I shut down my computer that my poem might be misunderstood. My poem should of been in third person, not first person, I realized after the fact. I am a Former US Army Infantryman. An 11B, but am NOT a Nam Vet. Was born in 1964. I am just old enough to remember the disgraceful way my country treated her soldiers in the aftermath. It is one of the few things I am ashamed of my country for. So sorry for the confusion I caused, here is the finalized version of my poem.
For them there were no homecomings, no yellow ribbons, no parades.
58,266 of their heroes moulder in their graves.
They answered our call, They stood their ground and met their foes with steel.
In a land far away, call Viet Nam.
For this their countrymen spit on them and said they should be 'shamed.
They bite their tongues, got on with life and held their 'Nam brothers close
They hid their tears and their scars and dreamed of forgotten ghosts.
And the generations change and time moves on and the critics learn a truth.
It is not them who are shamed but they who had spit.
They answered our call, fulfilled their oath and of this their children's children still boast!