When we were kids we never planned
To go off to a foreign land
Yet there we were you and me
With the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry
1st Air Cav Troopers, the best of course
Riding a chopper instead of a horse
Humping our rucksacks through elephant grass
Combing the hills 'round Mang Yang Pass
Proudly answering Our Country's Call
Never dreaming there'd be a Vietnam Wall

Steaming Jungle and Punji Stakes
Booby Traps, Leeches and Bright Green Snakes
Suddenly we're in the middle of hell
With AK Fire and Mortar Shell
Instinctively we hit the ground
Returning Charlie's fire round for round
Frantically answering Our Country's Call
Supplying more names to go on the Wall

With gunships and artillery we beat them back
Then call for resupply and Medevac
Hate and Frustration put knots in our guts
So we pull out our Zippos and burn down the huts
We'll make those dirty bastards pay
For what they did to us today
Once more we have answered Our Country's Call
Adding to the list that belongs on the Wall

Tell your children of war's true story
Of pain and death not fame and glory
Tell them of scars down deep inside
Memories of our tour and those who died
We all pray that your daughters or your sons
Will never, ever be the ones
Who proudly answer their Country's Call
And become another name on another wall

By Pappy Loughran