Dead Marine’s poem
Get Together by The Youngbloods
The #10 song in the country in 1969.
After two and a half months of aimlessly wandering the halls of Drill Instructor School, I noticed this poem for the first time today. It was sandwiched between a couple of Vietnam-era uniforms and assorted memorabilia in a display case, set back far enough to avoid casual notice. The poem was reportedly found in the pocket of a dead Marine in Quang Tri Providence, Vietnam on 7 June 1969. I jotted down what little I could before break was over and found the rest online. You may have already seen it.
This poem really brings to light the different mindsets between dirty hippies and the men actually doing the fighting. Politics isn’t near our concern in combat as is the lives of our buddies and knowing there are entirely too many people back home who just don’t care. I understand there are plenty who do care, but the negative always lingers.
For most of us, it only takes a week or two before we’d rather be back in the sandbox instead of being surrounded by ignorant, ungrateful “Americans”. And then, sadly, after about three months, the fires in our hearts cool to barely a glow and we resign ourselves to the world in which we live.
It is, without a doubt, the ugliest transformation I have ever experienced.
Take a man and put him alone,
put him twelve thousand miles from home.
Empty his heart of all but his blood,
make him live in sweat, in mud.This is the life I have to live,
this the soul to the Devil I give.
You have your parties and drink your beer,
while young men are dying over here.Plant your signs on the White House lawn;
“Lets get out of Vietnam”.
Use your signs and have your fun,
then refuse to use a gun.There’s nothing else for you to do,
then I’m supposed to die for you.
There is one thing that you don’t know;
and that’s where I think you should go!I’m already here and it’s too late.
I’ve traded all my love just for hate.
I’ll hate you till the day I die.
You made me hear my buddy cry.I saw his leg and his blood shed,
then I heard them say “This one’s dead”.
It was a large price for him to pay,
to let you live another day.He had the guts to fight and die,
to keep the freedom you live by.
By his dying your life he buys,
but who gives a damn if a Marine dies!
Born in the year of the Dragon, 
December 12th, 2007 at Wednesday @ 12:40am
I know that I am an “outsider” but, allow me to extend my gratitude to you and all fellow marines. Thanks for defending all humanity, regardless of country or color. This Poem managed to capture the essence of war. I can only imagine the emotions that surge through your core, when you hear those words…” This one’s dead…”
Thank you,
J
December 13th, 2007 at Thursday @ 9:57am
So sad. So real… Reminds me of our talk before the movie. Scary stuff.
December 13th, 2007 at Thursday @ 6:10pm
Hmm. With your indulgence I’d like to offer a counterpoint.
I’ve often seen it observed that in wartime, men ultimately fight less for their country or some perception of patriotism than for their fellow soldiers.
While you’re obviously better suited to evaluate the validity of that sentiment than I am, it illustrates a deeper truth, which you allude to in your post.
To paraphrase: You’ve observed that from the point of view of the man holding the rifle, the act of making war is wholly separate from the politics of it. I can understand that, because it stands to reason that some form of cognitive dissonance would necessarily result from the intersection of ambiguous political philosophies and the hard, cold reality of somebody wanting you dead in the now.
Therefore, I’ll stipulate that your position is entirely reasonable for you and for anybody sharing your frame of reference. That said, I humbly and respectfully submit that the possibility exists that being shot at might perhaps result in a dearth of perspective regarding the other issues involved…
The unfortunate detail, the spanner in the works, the sticky wicket—if you will—is that while eliminating politics from the situation is a survival mechanism for you, war is not actually waged in a vacuum. Politics exist; in fact, war between nations is said to be the ultimate expression of politics. While the why of the situation probably matters not at all to a man at the wrong end of a bullet, he is ultimately-and unfortunately-an instrument of foreign policy.
The point I’m after is this: if it’s reasonable for a soldier to separate war from politics, why isn’t it also reasonable for a civilian to separate politics from war? Why is it that anybody who objects to the political situation is automatically tarred with the “You don’t support the troops” brush, as though there isn’t a single valid reason to balk at the larger situation? It’s not an either/or proposition…
For what it’s worth, I know a lot of people with objections to the situation in Iraq, but I’ve never met ANYBODY who doesn’t want for the troops to come home proud and whole. Me included.
Just my $0.02
-Sean
p.s. Could you send me your snail-mail address? I’m got some stuff I’m planning to send your way.
December 18th, 2007 at Tuesday @ 3:37am
Sean,
I never really considered your point about the civilian separating politics from war. Damn good point, actually. I won’t hold it against you.
And I know how my ramblings lean toward the “love it or leave” side and tend to group most civilians in the same negative light, but it’s not the case. That just means I need to work on my writing.
Believe me, if I thought you fit the bill as a dirty hippie, I’d have a few of my merc buddies sneak into your bedroom at night and give you a polish necktie.
For now though, you’re safe.
March 31st, 2008 at Monday @ 6:32am
They should have joined the AF. Im just kidding, glad to see your putting some of that killing training to use, cant really picture you being pissed but by the sound of it thats a good thing. Anyway hope to catch you when Im back from Qatar somtime in Sept.
…JoeKohler