the chopper landed
my sqadron was on down time
i was TAD to the sickbay
what was the worst that could happen
a sick sailor, a case of to much beer
the chief in charge led me to the flightdeck
gave me a clipboard and said we need to register the bodies
37 marines brought onboard
faces cold bodies destroyed
mortar fire and bullet holes
my stomach turned as we opened the first of the body bags
my heart froze my sweat chilled me
my first glimps of real war
by the tenth, i was steeled and hard
no more tears or dry heaves
now i know how to see the horror
forever changed
knowing the true price of honor and duty
the true value of life.
Author notes
my second worst experience in the navy
A contest entry
- A spiritual experience by Uncle.
1200 points, ended August 12, 2007, 31 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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You are such a sweet friend and I hate to know that you ever witnessed something as ugly as death of that multitude. You are an honorable man, and a dear sweet friend of mine with such a beautiful heart. this is something of multitude and power. just glad you made it home safe.
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I love you...sorry for your having to see this. I am glad you survived and came home. I am so proud of you. And so sad for all those who returned home in bags. War is HATE and SHEER EVIL personified. You did what was required of you...that is honorable. It is so good that you should share this with us. People should learn the hard cold truth of war.
Blessed Be Love~~~
Az
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A profound write. This pulls a different aspect of the war into light. A deeply emotional write
~Tia
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wow, i like this poem, because it's based on real life events.
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War is a terrible thing, so sad.
Hugs onesugar
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Sounds so horrible:
I was an infantry medic but went to Korea, not VN, so didn't see the bad stuff. The ones that did were changed. Never heard anyone who was there mention that their sense of honor and duty was positively affected. Did the death effect your views of life, of war, humanity in any other way?
thanks for entering the contest: Dave -
War is hell on earth, no one can live through it and not be changed. This is why we should suport our troops, no not the war, but the troops. What happened to the guys and girls coming back from Vietnam shouldn't have happened and should never happen to anyone again. They give all, everything, and for what?
Cheryl
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i cannot imagine this. i don't really know what to say. you wrote it well. a saddening write. thanks for sharing this part of you.
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