By PFC Jay Keck, United States Marine Corps Combat Veteran, Vietnam
Side By Side
(
Available IN PRINT HERE!)
Side by side we fought an died
One by one we came home to hide
Side by side for twelve or thirteen months
They didn't call us soldiers, they called us grunts
Side by side, and day by day
Our squad leaders trying to show us the way
Side by side, black, brown, red and white
Risking our lives in a firefight
Side by side, mostly young men
Fighting a war we thought we could win
Side by side, in jungles and mountains
The rivers and streams became our drinking fountains
Side by side, in rice paddies and plateaus
In a far away country that we didn't know
Side by side we went to war
To stop the communists on a foreign shore
Side by side, trying to keep buddies alive
Everyday and every night it took all our training to survive
Side by side we laughed and cried
So many being wounded, so many that died
Side by side we fought for our flag
So many of our friends in a body bag
Side by side we fought for what was right
Coming home to America was such a fright
Side by side we are forever more
Never to be forgotten by the Vietnam War