I had a very dear friend who taught German to inner-city kids in Dallas. I didn’t know him when he had considered going to Canada with the support of his family. He ended up with a high lottery number and wasn’t called. It was a constant agony for him that he considered going. He was killed when an illegal uninsured Mexican killed him at an intersection on a Saturday morning. I will never decry my volunteering for Vietnam and going (67-69). But I feel shamed that a Nation doesn’t give a shit about the loss of 58K+ who could have had a decent life. It wasn’t worth the lives to test the Soviets. Listen to the words, “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” which describes those who came home exactly.
The reason we fought was to stop the takeover of South Vietnam by evil, communist bastards who got heavy support from the rest of the communist bastards. We were there to keep the friendlies safe and only peripherally there to keep the Soviets out.
I'm proud of you that you went - as I did and my younger brother did too.
We learned that our country lacked the guts and determination to stick with it. We learned that our country could turn against us - can you imagine how things would have gone if most young American men volunteered and the enemy had to face a country united? The VC/NVA would never have had a chance.
I really don't give a damn whether our country cared about us or all of those fine young men we lost. I care about those young guys we knew and their families care about them - and we learned a very important lesson about the limits of our country's faith in us and themselves.
A very true statement. Just ask any Servicemember that walked through, rolled through or limped thru an American airport in uniform in the 60's or early 70's. The Band played Waltzing Matilda may have been about Aussie troops from WW1, but the reception they got that prompted these lyrics were echoed for returnees from the 'Nam.
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They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed And they shipped us back home to Australia The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay I looked at the place where me legs used to be And thank Christ there was no one there waiting for me To grieve and to mourn and to pity And the Band played Waltzing Matilda When they carried us down the gangway Oh nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared Then they turned all their faces away Now every April I sit on my porch And I watch the parade pass before me I see my old comrades, how proudly they march Renewing their dreams of past glories I see the old men all tired, stiff and worn Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war And the young people ask "What are they marching for?" And I ask myself the same question And the band plays Waltzing Matilda And the old men still answer the call But year after year, their numbers get fewer Someday, no one will march there at all
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