Dying is easy in the ‘Nam

Many a man fell into the hands
Of that vicious enemy
In Viet-Nam, the land of the damned,
Captured by VC
Many men died in captivity
And many would somehow survive
But to die in the Nam is easy.
The harder is staying alive

The Viet Cong were a miserly band
Not likely prone to care
If their enemies die of starvation
Or disease in a jungle lair
If wounds of war will not heal
There is no hospital ward
To die in the jungle is easy.
It’s the staying alive that is hard

They fought the war with lessons learned
From centuries in the fray
They fought Chinese, they fought French,
They fought the US of A
Playing the game against what was dealt,
We were just another card
To die in the Nam is easy.
It’s the living there that is hard

Dedicated to the memory of FSGT Richard Frank ‘Top’ Williams. Died in captivity 9/27/1968, Quang Nam Province

3 thoughts on “Dying is easy in the ‘Nam

  1. veteran

    i left nam in 1970. it was daily routine, same recon, same casualties, no goals except a body count.
    while in the bush, some units would sit down and refuse to go any further.
    drugs became common, racial tensions rose, some wore a peace necklace and a flower in their helmet.
    all the while the johnson shipping lines and corporate america got rich.
    the kids back home were raising hell and at kent state univ. 4 died at the hands of the national guard.
    what bullshit it all was !
    it’s no different today. i told my wife during desert storm that this will be another viet nam and it is so.
    i did not let my son go into the military and neither of my grandkids will go either. i told them to stay home and live their life.
    screw the government and the pentagon.
    top williams should have come home. we are all at a loss that he didn’t.

  2. ex Jarhead

    54 years ago a ChiCom ‘Klashnikover” got me on a ricochet.
    Got me 10 days “In Country” at the Da Nang Naval hospital.

    I lived to send a few ChiCon to “Their maker” and post here!

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