Poem

[Welder]

My Dad served in Vietnam with 1st Cav. He dont talk about his time there and never realy did. I asked him once if he ever would and he said no.



When I was deployed to the Gulf in 91 my Dad sent this poem to me with a letter. He did not know the Auther but even today if he reads this he gets a little tear and goes outside to be alone. This poem, has ment a lot to him so I thought I would share it with you other Vietnam Vets. If you Know who Penned this please let me know..



Goodbye Viet Nam I'm haunted by memories brought up from the past When I hear your name or remember the blast Of ammo exploding and the sky lit with flame How I wish I'd forget the sound of your name! It brings forth my tears and feelings of dread To listen to voices inside my head That say, "What the hell am I doing here?" I feel sadness, anxiety, rage, and fear. For so long I managed to push you away To a place in my mind so far from today. Yet sooner or later your head would rise up And stir my emotions and they would erupt. The tears come so freely to think that I Was not one of the 58,000 who died. My life was spared by the hand of God But others were not, and they died like dogs. They carried their bodies in zip lock bags To choppers and ships after they dragged Them through rice paddies, jungles and village streets To coffins lined up so straight and neat. These boys were just heeding their country's call To defend our freedom; to give their all. Little they knew when they departed To fight in a war they had not started. Good little soldiers were trained to kill In simulations of deserts and hills. They could not know that it was different this time, There was no way to tell there was no front line. The war was among us, on every side There was no safe haven, no place to hide. Was the kid over there a Viet Cong? Was I right or could I be wrong? Would he tie a grenade to my bunk that day So when I slept, it would blow me away? Would Mama-San rig up my jeep to explode A grenade in my gas tank ready to blow? The war was on all sides and made me feel Constantly vigilant even at meals. No one could be trusted, no one at all A misplaced trust could cause you to fall. The evening news would report the death toll Between ads for soap and Wesson Oil, Barely pausing before the vultures would pounce On the chance to update today's body count. One more number to add to the score; One more son not coming home any more. One more to feed to the war machine; One more whose face would go unseen. I did my part, but I still mourn For the ones who seem they were never born. Their lives snuffed out with little regard For their souls and their eternal reward. I thank my God for sparing me And for the effort it took for me to see That His hand was on me throughout the time I spent in that humid, tropical clime. Still my heart is tender and my feelings are raw To think I walked into the jaws Of ugly war which made no sense to us Nor to the ones who thought it unjust. They called us hawks and baby killers They spat on us and took their pills. They carried signs and protested involvement Like we were the ones who made the commitment We just followed orders like our fathers before us Who did it and then were brought home victorious. They showered them with ticker tape parades; We came home to ridicule and rage. Where's my parade, the flags unfurled; I was dropped like a rock back into the world With cars whizzing past and mindless chatter Was I really there, did I really matter? Can you understand my grief and my pain? The tears I shed, the hurt that remains? The dead, the dying, the innocence lost, Didn't you stop to count the cost? It's too late now to make amends To wipe the slate clean, to call me your friend. I hate you dreaded Viet Nam You stole a part of who I am. My tears are like medals, it's OK to cry, I'll drop a tear for every guy Who entered that land and did not return And for those who were damaged, whose feelings burn. Goodbye, Viet Nam, I won't give you the power By thinking of you every day, every hour. I'll choose to honor the memories instead Of my fellow soldiers, living and dead.

[Jerry D]

Thanks for shareing the poem

[Boats]

Welder - thanks for sharing -

[BLUEHAWK]

Thanks for posting that...

I'll try to help you find the author, it could take some time, but I'm putting it out there.

[BLUEHAWK]

Welder,

A brother offers this answer for you:

"Frisbee wrote:

Blue, this was written by Terry Rushbrook
1LT, Army Signal Corps,
1968-1969, Cam Rahn Bay, Qui Nhon, Da Lat"

[BLUEHAWK]

Welder,

Here is a web site you can click on, and from it print out a very beautiful version of the poem.

http://www.hack1966.com/GoodbyeVietnam.html

Courtesy of "CalDreaming", a friend.

[Bill Farnie]

Yea Blue, like I said it was written by Terry Rushbrook who served in Nam 68-69.

I was moved so much by his poem that I contacted him and in my email I asked him when he wrote it and he replied with this:

Bill,

Thanks for your kind words. I wrote it 30 years, one month, and two days after I got back to the world from Viet Nam. I was sitting in a treatment center in California getting help for addictions to alcohol and drugs when it hit me. I wrote it basically in one sitting with minor editing over the next few days, but it just poured out like the stopper being pulled from a bottle.

I was with 41st Signal Batttalion and 362nd Signal Company in Cam Rahn Bay, Qui Nhon, and Dalat 68-69.

Welcome Home Brother! Please feel free to share my poem with anyone you know that might identify with it.

Are you doing OK? Are you plugged in to any groups or a local Vet
Center? There are a lot of us out there who were in the same
situation. You are not alone.

God Bless,
Terry

Now Mr. Welder .... I was wondering how your VN Vet Dad sent it to you in 1991 when it he didn't write it until 1999?

"Frisbee"

[user459]

Hi,

I'm Terry Rushbrook and I wrote this poem in 1999 while in a treatment center in San Clemente, California, thirty years after returning from Viet Nam. I found this old post while doing a search on the Goodbye Viet Nam name so I could forward it to a friend. I'm glad some other guys found the poem and identified with it.

There is a better copy of it at another site as someone has mentioned in another post. Please feel free to contact me through the forum for a copy or to discuss it.

Welcome Home Brothers!

Terry

[David]

Thank you for your service Terry, welcome home.

[DeadlyDaring]

Originally Posted by Welder

If you Know who Penned this please let me know..

http://thewall-usa.com/literary/rushbrook.html
Goodbye VIETNAM

By

Terry Rushbrook©May 1999

redrush@banet.net

1LT, Army Signal Corps,
RVN: 1968-1969
Cam Rahn Bay, Qui Nhon, Da Lat