Ronald J. Murray

NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR

Once there was a nice young man,
who went away to war:
“He will kill those lousy gooks,”
said the neighbor man next door.

I wondered if I would do it,
as I climbed aboard the plane.
Could I ever kill someone?
Damn this was insane!

The plane sat down in Chu Lai,
rain filled up the sky.
The man that I was setting with,
was the first man I saw die.

The enemy knew we were coming,
he always knows our plan,
but when those rockets hit the ground.
I forgot about that man.

I dove into a bunker,
because I had no gun.
My first day in Vietnam,
and they had me on the run.

I swore an oath that very night;
I would be here for one year.
If Charlie saw my back again,
it would be after I took his ear.

“What happened to that nice young man?”
Asked the neighbor man next door?
He isn’t quite the same you know,
since he came home from that war.