Ronald J. Murray

LIKE COMING HOME

I didn’t fight at Khe Sanh,
and I was not at Hue.
But I was there in 66,
at a place called Holloway.

I was a chopper gunner,
and I have seen a lot.
I remember a day back then,
when I was also shot.

I didn’t walk through Happy Valley,
but I was at Phu Bai.
That was back in ‘69,
the year I learned to cry.

I was still so very young,
when I lost my best friend.
My second tour in Vietnam,
I thought would never end.

I was not in Saigon,
for the 1968 Tet.
But I was there for many days,
some things I can’t forget.

I didn’t fight those battles,
but I still, feel the pain:
Like living through a nightmare
Or like coming home again.