19

In 1965 Vietnam seemed like
just another foreign war,
but it wasn't.
It was different in many ways,
as so were those that did the fighting.
In World War II
the average age of the combat soldier was 26...
In Vietnam he was 19.
In inininininin Vietnam he was 19.

The shooting and fighting
of the past two weeks
continued today
25 miles west of Saigon
I really wasn't sure
what was going on
Nininini Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19

In Vietnam the combat soldier
typically served a twelve month
tour of duty but was exposed
to hostile fire almost everyday
Ninininininininininin 19
nininininninin 19

Hundreds of Thousands of men
who saw heavy combat in Vietnam were arrested
since discharge
Their arrest rate is almost
twice that of non-veterans of the same age.
There are no accurate figures
of how many of these men have been incarcerated.
But, a Veterans Administration study
concludes that the greater of Vets
exposure to combat could more likely affect
his chances of being arrested or convicted.

This is one legacy of the Vietnam War

All those who remember the war
They won't forget what they've seen..
Destruction of men in their prime
whose average was 19
Dedededededede Destruction
Dedededededede Destruction
War, War
Dededede Destruction,
wa-wa-War, wa-War, War
Dedededededede-Destruction
War, War

After World War II the Men came home
together on troop ships,
but the Vietnam Vet often arrived home
within 48 hours of jungle combat
Perhaps the most dramatic difference
between World War II and Vietnam was
coming home.. .
none of them received a hero's welcome
None of them received a heroes welcome,
none of them,
none of them
Nenene Nenene None of them,
none of them,
none of them
None of them received a hero's welcome
None of them received a hero's welcome

According to a Veteran's Administration study
Half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered
from what Psychiatrists call
Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder
Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or guilt
Some succumb to suicidal thoughts
Eight to Ten years after coming home
almost eight-hundred-thousand men
are still fighting the Vietnam War

Dedededededede-Destruction

Nininininininininin Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19
Nininininininininin Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19

When we came back it was different..
Everybody wants to know "How'd it
happened to those guys over there
There's gotta be something wrong somewhere
We did what we had to do
There's gotta be something wrong somewhere
People wanted us to be ashamed of what it made us
Dad had no idea what he went to fight and he is now
All we want to do is come home
All we want to do is come home
What did we do it for
All we want to do is come home
Was it worth it?

-Paul Hardcastle

Lord, what have we done... again.

I forgot about that song.

I flunked out of college (stoned music major)
Dick Nixon drafted my ass
I got sent to Viet Nam

All in all... Not a very good year.

and I hope the last 35 yrs or so have been better than your 19th

peace