So...off I went to Vietnam,

full of purpose - and proud;

I thought that I should do my part,

though I never said it aloud.

I wore the uniform, you see -

I felt it was my duty to go,

to show the Flag, to protect my land.

I really believed that, you know,

and also in the decency of my crew;

I felt they’d be true and fair.

We were engaged in a Noble Cause,

an Ultimate Event men share.

But, sadly, it was not to be,

for there are always those few

who do not care how hard you work;

it doesn’t matter what you do.

They only see through a warped lens

clouded by life-long hate;

they scheme and plot, wink and smirk,

and snidely denigrate.

In the end, it turned out to be

just 'another day in the life',

with tedium, work, smiles, and fears,

some happy times, and some strife.

Except each day had an added twist;

I now found I had to contend

with new enemies outside the wire

as well as the familiar ones within.

I wonder, really, who paid the most:

I who could live and let live,

or those with minds tightly closed,

who simply could not give

credit when and where it was due,

who just had to connive and sneer?

One can only wonder at the roots

of such deep and elemental fear.

© Thurman P. Woodfork June 1968