Alwaysawarrior

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I WAS AN AIRMAN AND ALWAYS WILL BE

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I was an airman and my job was a very important one
I had served my nation in times of peace and in war
It was my choice to enlist rather than to be drafted

There were many choices that I could have made then
Running away to another country would've been easy
Hiding and letting someone else go wasn't my choice

I believe in my country and I knew right from wrong
So the choice to stay and enlist was an easy choice
Serving my nation as a warrior if they had needed me

My test scores were high in the occupational testing
I became a Special Purpose Vehicle Maintenance-man
I specialized in Crash-Fire and Crash-Rescue trucks

I wanted to serve but I didn't want to kill others
My choice meant I would be helping to save lives
Keeping the vehicles ready to respond at any moment

I knew that my job was in high demand over in Vietnam
Battle damaged aircraft were returning from missions
Pilots knew the crash & rescue trucks were waiting

They had foamed the runway down with fire retardant
They were there to chase the plane down the runway
The pilot opened his canopy ready to scramble out

As the aircraft slid crash trucks raced to keep up
Ready to quickly extinguish any sign of fire emerging
The pilot had survived and was counting his blessings

He cheerfully thanked each of the crash-rescue crews
And he told them how close his brush was with death
He said he was so relieved when he saw them waiting

I was thrilled not only because of his safe landing
But also because my crash-trucks had worked perfectly
They and their crews had both saved this pilot's life

There's this feeling that's hard to describe to others
For there is this pride deep inside that swelled in me
Knowing that my efforts to maintain them had paid off

In some climates it was extremely difficult to work in
The weather and heat played havoc on my trucks systems
We'd worked hard so these trucks could always respond




© Terry Sasek - Alwaysawarrior - all rights reserved.




After arriving down at my new base in Vietnam to serve
as an advisor to the South Vietnam Air Force teaching
their firemen and their mechanics how to maintain and
fix the crash-fire and crash-rescue vehicles that the
U.S. Air Force had given to them for their air base, I
was informed that the advisor that I was replacing had
extended his tour of duty for two more months and that
I was going to be sent over and lent out to the combat
security police unit on base who were defending the air
base to protect the American personnel who were there.
So I found out quickly just how fast things could change
at a moments notice and that I would now be facing the
fact that once again I might be faced with the reality
that for the next two months I might have to take the
life of another human being in order to protect and to
defend my own fellow warriors from the enemy that we all
would be facing down there in the delta region of South
Vietnam which was something I thought that I would not
have to face as a mechanic advising the South Vietnamese
mechanics and firemen during my tour of duty in Vietnam.



























 
















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I WAS AN AIRMAN AND ALWAYS WILL BE