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Gramps use’ta say
R.L.King2012 #M-2
About: Military Service
(All Branches)
“All gave some.
Some, gave all…
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PAYING THE PRICE
© Copyright 2013 Richard Lee King
The country was at war, we were fighting in Vietnam.
Should he become a soldier, enlist with Uncle Sam?
His number hadn’t been called, she thought that he should wait,
“At least til after the baby’s born, let’s just trust our fate.”
He was going to the university, trying to improve his knowledge.
She said, “If you enlist now, you’ll probably never finish college.”
“Maybe by the time they call, you’ll have gotten your degree,
rather than enlist, why don’t we wait and see?”
He believes in the military, as did his dad and older brother.
He thinks that he’d have joined, were she not becoming a mother.
His first son was born in 66, the same year he graduated,
his second in 68, and they were happy they had waited.
He never did get called, not even for the physical,
but he’s lived with a lot of guilt, sometimes he feels it still.
He’s always had problems with his back, and his feet were always flat.
Seems, in the end, he tried to believe he’d never pass with that.
In our country’s time of need, he never stepped to the fore.
Isn’t that a young man’s duty when his country is at war?
So many paid the price, while others dodged the draft,
while friends slept in foxholes, he was busy perfecting his craft.
Never did he run, but neither did he enlist,
she wanted him to stay, and he never did insist.
Now, all these years later he pays a different kind of price,
wishing he had just enlisted, without even thinking twice.
Am I The Only One 