A Soldier’s Past

It was a sad time of long ago
The horrible memories of G.I. Joe
At 19 I was drafted by my Uncle Sam
I was trained and sent to that Asian land
I remember leaving to go to Vietnam
I looked through the window to my homeland
I thought I would never return home alive
I didn’t think I would ever survive
I got to Vietnam and remember the awful smell that night
As I got off the plane, I thought what a terrible sight
I patrolled through the jungle and stepped over trip wires
I got shot at, dodged bullets and returned fire
There were several that were not as lucky as I
The sights of dead babies and others made me cry
I wondered why I am seeing the sad sites of war
And watching the horror of the blood guts and gore
I saw soldiers carrying the body bags to send back home
I wondered how many families would be sad and all alone
But my Good Shepherd guided me through that Valley of death
And as I walked through the horrors, I could almost feel his breath
It was May third of 69, just before my 20th birthday
We were patrolling in the Iron Triangle that day
It was a Saturday morning sunny and very warm
We met our fate on that bloody early morn
I survived but my friend died a death so painful
Those memory will always be with me but I am grateful
I laid many months in a hospital bed with long nights
In pain and nightmares, I would awake in a fright
But the Good Lord would comfort me and the time would soon pass
This is the story of one soldier a Private First Class
I wish I could erase those memories of long ago
And stop all of the tears that still flow

In memory of Richard C. Garcia KIA 05/03/1969