Travelin' Soldier

Listening to the Dixie Chicks right now.

Man, this song makes me cry everytime I hear it. It reminds me of this guy back in the early 70s. He was the brother of one of my girlfriends and he had no one to write to him. He was a Seabee in 'Nam. We wrote for a long time. Then the letters stopped. I had actually lost contact with his sister, too. I had gone off to college. It took me a while to find out he was okay but I think of the friends - not family, not notified - for whom the letters "just stop". Man, war sucks!

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

Chorus: I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

Support our troops... bring 'em home!

I have no immediate family members who are military (a few WW2 uncles I barely know), and no military friends, so I can only try to imagine what it's like. It seems to me that if someone steps up to the plate and offers his life in service of his country, to defend his country against a threat, then you have to be damned careful how you treat that life. You sure as hell don't WASTE it. If someone is going to give his life for the U.S., let it happen while going up against a Hitler... not on behalf of a bunch of chickenhawk oil boys who are pocketing billions for every hour our soldiers are in harm's way.

It sickens me, and I don't even know any of them personally!