01/08/2025 – “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”. The Hollies (1969 release)
Link to song below – Sublime!, followed by song lyrics explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBI9i3HlFVE_
In Elton John’s song: “Goodnight Saigon”, his lyrics included: “And who was wrong and who was right, it didn’t matter in the thick of the fight!” When I saw him in concert soon after getting out of the Army in 1976, it brought me to tears when the men’s backup choir dressed in uniform sang: “And we said we all would go down TOGETHER!” (See link below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ0c9x6q1qc_
Vietnam War Facts, Stats & Myths below:
I read the entire article but this stat floored me!:
“Infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter.” Oh, and noted: 2/3 of men in Vietnam were volunteers.
*Note – The WWII generation has been tagged the “greatest generation”; I have no beef with that!
Now, consider this:
in the generation that followed us serving in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, many served multiple tours that may have competed, with the “240 days” stat for Vietnam vets, except it wasn’t just one year , but a significant portion of a full volunteer tour of three or four years. I have an Army buddy , whose son was one of these warriors, serving as a medic. One of many young man just barely out of high school who saw too much for too long. In Kevin’s case, they even called him back up from inactive duty (3 years span as I recall) beyond his active duty enlistment of 3 or 4 years. In our day, that was unheard of for volunteers in a three or four year enlistment, throughout the entire Vietnam era. But a continued “Praise God!”, he is still with us!
Soli Deo Gloria indeed!