WE SERVED OUR NATION WHEREVER & HOWEVER WE WERE NEEDED

Just one of six kids I was always different
I had always loved the history of our nation
Knowing that I too would serve her some day

I had been totally opposite of my own siblings
They had no interest in the military as I did
But I always wanted to enlist someday to serve

I read how the patriots had kept all of us free
They had always fought to defend our way of life
When needed they had dropped what they were doing

They put their own needs and families lives on hold
They answered the call to arms to defend our freedom
Even though it caused them hardships they still came

To protect this nation of ours during times of strife
They willingly stood up to meet the challenge head on
I had great respect for those patriots who answered

So when it came time for my generation to stand tall
While others ran away to Canada I enlisted to serve
Choosing to protect my nation's and our allies freedom

I had no desire to kill another human being whatsoever
So I chose a field of service where I wouldn't have to
I would help to maintain crash-fire and rescue vehicles

But it seemed no matter how well one might plan things
Circumstances at the time dictated the outcomes faced
No matter what your job if things got bad we all fought


 
© Terry Sasek - Alwaysawarrior - all rights reserved.




Upon reaching my small Vietnamese air base down in the Mekong Delta
region of South Vietnam in November 1968, I went over to my unit's
headquarters to check into the unit and was told that in addition to
helping to train the mechanics & firemen in the South Vietnamese Air
Force to maintain their American crash-fire & crash-rescue vehicles
that America gave them, I would also help to maintain our own U.S.
Air Force equipment as well. Then the news came that I had never
expected to hear at all there, I was going to also serve my first
two months at Binh-Thuy air base as an augmentee security policeman
out on the bases perimeter defending our base against enemy attacks
& infiltrators who would try to sneak onto our base to try to blow
up our aircraft, helicopters, fuel & ammo dumps. In this assignment
I would be facing the great possibility that I would have to kill an
enemy soldier attacking our base. So then at that moment I found out
that even your best plans could be suddenly changed by circumstances
and I now would face my worse fears over in Vietnam in that I might
have to actually take the life of another human being.

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