uncommon valor a vietnam story
I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of this nation. I have always tried to do what was best. (Duck… and cover!)
I don't know why I'm over here, this job is evil
They sent me here to Vietnam to kill innocent people
My mother wrote me, said: "The President, he doesn't care."
He tryin' to leave the footprints of America here
They say we tryin' to stop Chinese expansion
But I ain't seen no Chinese since we landed
Sent my whole entire unit, thinkin' we could win
Against the Vietcong guerrillas there in Gia Định
I didn't sign up to kill women or any children
For every enemy soldier, we killin' six civilians
Yeah, and it ain't right to me
I ain't got enough of motherfuckin' fight in me
It frightens me, and I just wanna see my son and moms
But over here they droppin' seven million tons of bombs
I spent my days dodgin' all these booby-traps and mines
And at night prayin' to God that I get back alive
And I'm forced to sit back and wonder
Why I was a part of Operation Rolling Thunder
In a foxhole with nine months left here
Jungle like the fuckin' harbinger of death here
I don't wanna be here, I'm scared, I just wanna go home
You fucking kidding me?! Don't be a pussy!
Don't you love your country?!
I like being here, I'm ready (True story…)
Call me Thorburn, John A., staff sergeant
Marksman, skilled in killin', illin', I'm able and willin'
Kill a village elephant, rapin' and pillage a village
Illegitimate killers, U.S. Military guerrillas
This ain't no real war, Vietnam shit
World War II, that's a war, this is just a military conflict
Soothin' drug abusin', Vietnamese women screwin'
Sex, gamblin' and boozin' — all this shit is amusin'
Bitches and guns, this is every man's dream
I don't wanna go home where I'm just an ordinary human being
Special Op, Huey chopper gun ship, run shit
Gook run when the minigun spit, won't miss
Kill shit, spit four-thousand bullets a minute
Victor Charlie, hair-trigger, hit it, I'm in it to win it
Get it, the lieutenant hinted, the villain, I been it
The killin', I did it, cripple, did it
Pictures I painted is vivid, live it
A wizard with weapons: the secret mission, we 'bout to begin it
Government funded, behind enemy lines
Bullets is sprayin', it's heatin' up a hundred degrees
The enemy's the North Vietnamese, bitch please!
Ain't no sweat, I'm told be at ease
Until I see the pilot got hit, and we 'bout to hit some trees
Tail rotor broke, crash land
American man in Cambodia, right in the enemy hand
Take a swig of the Whiskey to calm us
Them yellow men wearin' black pajamas
They wanna harm us, they all up on us
Bang bang, bullet hit my chest, feel no pain
To my left, the Captain caught a bullet right in his brain
Body parts flyin', loss of limbs, explosions
Bad intentions, I see my best friend's intestines
Pray to the one above, it's rainin', I'm covered in mud
I think I'm dyin', I feel dizzy, I'm losin' blood
I see my childhood, I'm back in the arms of my mother
I see my whole life, I see Christ, I see bright lights
I see Israelites, Muslims and Christians at peace, no fights
Black, Whites, Asians, people of all types
I must've died, then I woke up, surprised I'm alive
I'm in a hospital bed, they rescued me, I survived
I escaped the war, came back
But ain't escape Agent Orange: two of my kids born handicapped
Spastic, quadriplegia, micro cephalic
Cerebral palsy, cortical blindness — name it, they had it
My son died, he ain't live
But I still try to think positive, ‘cause in life, God take, God give