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AMERICA

 

IN

VIETNAM

BOONIE RAT (an excerpt)

Chuck Rosenberg


I landed in this country,
With one year of life to give,
My only friend a weapon,
And my only prayer, to live.


I walked away from freedom,
The life that I had known,
I saw the weary faces
Of the others going home.


Boonie Rat, Boonie Rat,
Scared but not alone,
300 days more or less
Then I'm going home.


My first few days were busy
As they psyched my mind for war,
I sometimes got the feeling
They're trying to tie the score.


I learned to look for danger
In the trees and on the ground,
I learned to feel with terror
When you hear an A-K round.


Boonie Rat, Boonie Rat,
Scared but not alone,
300 days more or less
Then I'm going home.

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