He left his home and family
To travel thousands of miles away,
Naïve in the ways of life and of war,
Not ready for the horrors to come.
A young woman ready for life,
Wanting to be patriotic and do her part,
Sheltered and untouched by the world,
She would come of age in a land far away.
Their country called them to serve,
So they left family and friends
To a struggle in an unforgiving land,
Vilified by an unforgiving population,
Thrust into a world of unknown dangers,
Knowing death could call at any time.
Each day they are there is another year lived,
Aging them with a hardened maturity.
Living through the hells of a battle
Their fathers never saw in their war.
Nurses treating wounded bodies and souls
Their mothers had never imagined in their war.
A political war with no way to win
Against an enemy with nothing to lose.
An enemy with the face of a friend
And in the person of woman and child.
Many returned home in flag-draped coffins,
Others with physical wounds and scars.
All came home changed in some manner
While some have yet to return home.
Unlike their fathers in the World War,
There were no parades or confetti for them.
They were not welcomed home as heroes.
They were spit upon and called names.
Isolated by their service in a hated war,
Detached from the social changes going on,
They no longer knew their place or role
In the foreign world they once knew as home.
Ostracized for serving their country,
Abandoned by those who served before them,
These men and women swore never again
Would a generation of veterans be denied.
Healing comes slowly to some; others
Lose the battle to cope and can’t go on.
An old adage takes hold in one’s heart
As time begins to heal a wounded nation.
To make amends and honor their service,
The nation answers the call to dedicate
A monument to those who answered the call
And served an undeserving populace of the time.
An ebony granite wall that mirrors
The souls of those who gave their all.
To the brothers and sisters who returned,
The names of those never to be forgotten.
A statue that brings to life the faces of the war,
The hardened warrior and the nurturing angels,
To the first taste of the unimaginable horrors,
Bringing the past and the present together.
Many years have passed since that time.
The young men and women have grown older
And are now grandfathers and grandmothers
To a generation who have no knowledge of ‘Nam.
The veterans of the Vietnam War promised 
Never to abandon a veteran as they were before.
They rallied in support of young men and women
Who answered the call to serve as they did before.
We honor them for their service and sacrifices,
For they never lost faith in those of us who followed.
So from the newest generation of combat veterans,
Thank You and Welcome Home, Brothers and Sisters!