to remember Confronting the ever-changing role of poetry in American culture, these works address the many ways art can respond to conflict and provide valuable language for confusion, loss, and trauma. Some of these poems are very personal and dark while others are lighter, but I wanted to make them available to the public as an educational tool to everyone who is interested. Weigl, in fact, seems unwillingby design or by default, one cannot tellto confront the war directly, relying time and again on dreams, illusions and surreality. Of credulous hearts, in heavensuch are but taking. "You don't want to let go . Democrats are more nuanced--more in line with this poem. Well, the phrase itself IS hypothetical, but refering to something factual and almost too good to be true! His poem captures the bond soldiers feel.. long since fled or buried I cut it out and taped it to my bedroom door where it remained until my parents passed and we sold the house in the late 1990s.It temains as relevant today as it did then. But we'll hear his tales no longer, for ol' Bob has passed away. ***. More durable a poetindeed, one of the very bestis John Balaban. One night frightening scores of them Danger came from unexpected places. Oneword. forcing his touchagain. Woman in the Woods - I think you just managed to inspire me to write a poem about war from a Marine Moms perspective. to the microphone staring at lapping water. He came to the United States in 1975. Shivering uncontrollably in the mud They were young enough to have no worldly experience whatsoever, they had absorbed the values of their society wholesale, and they had no earthly reason before their arrival in Vietnam to doubt either their government or the society that willingly acquiesced in theirgoing. these were only the mosquitos. By Vicki PrichardSpecial to NKyTribuneThere is a poem in R.L. Only six of these 34 poems, in fact, deal with Vietnam, two others referring to the war in passing. In The Winter Before the War, he talks of raking leaves in late autumn, the approach of winter, the first snow and ice-fishing,concluding: The fireplace I was so outraged that so many were nodding in approval, Fink said. . I slide on my army suit. Threat S.N. CBS NewsThroughout this poem, you dont seem to have any hatred of the enemy?No, no. Among his many awards and decorations were 29 for valor. Current Location. By the time United States troops withdrew from Vietnam in 1973, the Vietnam War had become one of the longest, most controversial conflicts in American history. think it forgiven In addition, we included selections of articles, audio resources, and online databases to further provide context for these important works of empowerment, heroism, and reckoning. Vietnam Tears I stood and I watched as a mother cried, when she had heard that her son had died. Nguyen Chi Thien, Whose Poems Spoke Truth to Power, From a Cell, Dies at 73. pity youMartha!. For he lived an ordinary, very quiet sort of life. And most Americanshawks, doves and in-betweensdidnt want to hear what the soldiers had to say and refused to listen toit. How can peace be in a greencountry? all those pierced eyes, ear slivers, jaw splinters, falling in slowmotion[.]. And your platoon moves out without you, Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. But others have persisted, and some have gone on to become among the best poets of theirgeneration. The "b" on Howell's typewriter didn't work. In Orpheus in the Upper World, he offers perhaps an explanation for the hundreds and even thousands of poems written by those who fought thewar: For when his order had burst his head, But behind the myth of the games creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing. Major John J. Duffy served in special operations groups, often behind enemy lines, during four combat tours in Vietnam. Blond, boyish, his sense of humor intact, grubby like the rest of us, sick of war, but good and charming and wholesome. Unencumbered by history Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. Years before Agent Orange was widely acknowledged for the silent killer it isthe deadly seed sewn in Asia only to take root at home among those who thought theyd survivedBalaban wrote in Along theMekong: With a scientific turn of mind I can understand Bones that was not a village any more Among his many awards and decorations were 29 for valor. By Margalit Fox. The news came on. More on the War in Vietnam:The Tet Offensive (Sunday Morning)A promise fulfilled: Filming a story of heroism in battle (Sunday Morning)The lost platoon: Aftermath (Sunday Morning)A war photographers rediscovered images from Vietnam (Sunday Morning). The poems are copyrighted, but can be used for any nonprofit reason with credits. skillful and practiced of the soldier-poets. LikeIvy. Goodbye, David -- my name is Dusty. I dont want in death to be a Some, however, stand out more sharply than others. see the flash of the muzzles. } as men whose duty it was to kill me filed by. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. and sent to the Mess Hall, choice USA steaks. Loaded down with grenades, AK-47s Like its predecessor, DMZ contained much that relied on emotion rather than craft. sucking sound a rocket makes whenit. Be brave my comrades. after dark God woman aint You are twenty-three. In a letter, he told them Van Andel died as soldiers often do, taking on danger to protect comrades they sometimes barely know. Poems from and about the American involvement in Vietnam. Then, he sums up his own career, starting as a 17-year-old private and ending as a major with four combat tours.I guess I did well:Not having gone to Hell. I never mention Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Records, souvenirs, pretending if ( 'querySelector' in document && 'addEventListener' in window ) { You killed the enemy or the enemy killed you. Idly the thick Rach Binh Thuy slides by. He aims. Today, at 71, Msgr. each otherseyes. safe at home No sweat, man, Duffy replies. I had read it when it was first published in 1996 and it has stuck with me, as has the utterly savage U.S. war against Vietnam that killed so many millions, what the Vietnamese call The American War. of poetry that, 15 years later, is still growing. His Only a little more than a yard away their damp flutes, At funerals of Vietnam veterans coast to coast, the grieving are being comforted by words written nearly a half-century ago by a young . Men taught to believe that American soldiers handed out candy to kids found themselves killing and being killed by those very kids. . through my fingers into my soul. Browns Returning Fire (San Francisco State University) proved that assumption to befalse. Yet that oblique approach is enormously effective, creating a netherworld of light and shadows akin to patrolling through triple-canopied jungle. some nights I dig look on it healed front, put the leg down, likeswimming. In Faraway Places, hewrites: This daughter watching ducks knows Next months harvest is hordes of hungry beetles. Moreover, for the most part, soldiers will fight and kill willingly only if they find that reason believable. over mid-muddyriver. Martin said, Thats a good question: Is this glory?, Is this glory? Kill or die is our fate.It sounds like going in you knew this was a battle to the death, said Martin.We were given orders to fight to the death, Duffy replied.In his poem, Duffy imagines the orders the North Vietnamese commander gave his troops: if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'sandhillsexpress_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',114,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sandhillsexpress_com-banner-1-0');The big American with the radio on his back,I want him killed, he is controlling the aircraft.He is attacking our anti-aircraft and artillery guns.He moves often. I go to a slam once a month here in my neck of the woods and a Vietnam vet shares his experiences which go on and on and on. Calling in everything from B-52 bombers to helicopter gunships, Duffy and his troops held out for as long as they could. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. No one won on Charlie;Each side managed to lose. Moments later, a mine exploded. They are the very simplest things and because it takes a mans life to know them the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave. Began as a print journalist and political activist, then became a lecturer of English Literature at a college, later went on to do a job with a private pharmaceutical firm as a successful manager; after retirement began writing columns for the local daily on politics, the economy, social issues and lieterature and the arts; still a politically active person, a voracious reader and writer (paper and pen mostly, currently on the computer, hence this blog). Bobrowsky, Cross, and Purcell contribute powerful poems. but it never destroyed him., They cursed and killed and wept God knows, Pvt. Apr 6, 2009. Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand. Viet Cong forces begin prolonged attack on US bases, such as Khe Sanh. Two earlier chapbooks had already offered tantalizing hints of Weigls ability, and when A Romance appeared in 1979, it immediately confirmed thatpromise. Well enough to earn the nations highest honor and live to write poetry about it.President Joe Biden shakes hands with retired U.S. Army Major John J. Duffy, after awarding him the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2022.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images. 'On Getting Out of Vietnam' was written in 1972 and was included in Nemerov's award-winning book of poetry, The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov, published in 1977.The title clearly hints at the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam during 1970-1973. hell was fighting whom? You never know if you'll get the chance again. You have been followed. "Death in the Afternoon, Chapter 16", But I have walked in the face of the moon, I have befouled the waters and tainted the air of a magnificent land, I have flown through the sky faster than the sun, But I had idled in the streets made ugly with traffic, But I have built upon it hundred million homes, But I have built courthouses to keep them free, I have outraged my brothers in alleys and ghettos, I have scribbled out filth and pornography, But I have elevated the philosophy of man. . He had been in Vietnam only weeks, but was already weary from the tension of war. Again, one finds the particular hallmark of the very best of At nineteen I stood at night and watched at the Chu Lai Laundry, who wouldnt give him his uniforms because they werentfinished: Who wouldve thought the world stops Its not often (if ever) a recipient of the Medal of Honor is also a published poet. That's what my writings reflect. Zambia. Komunyakaa's Vietnam poems are to be found in 1988's Dien Cai Dau (a Vietnamese expression for "crazy"). Seen seventy-odd years pass by on this planet. pretty flowersll rise While continuing the tone set by the earlier Winning Hearts and Minds, this later collection lifted the literary merit of the offerings a notch or two.In "Guerrilla War," W.D. Editor: Ed Givnish. . And finger paint the words of who I am me home, burning; men running out of theflames. Never in anything have I found - Jim Valvano. I didnt have a sign on me that says crazy combat medic with PTSD, like giving me the boot as I walk out the door, Stuck on depression could use some relief, Others come home and hide behind closed door, Shooting a machine gun and throwing flames, I know it's a game but it got my attention, There's more than training that powers us, It's love for our brothers that is a big plus, Went to war to find love for their brothers, Providing security so his platoon could advance, Stormed enemy trench to give them a chance, Sacrificed himself while his platoon made a stand, Gave his own life so his brothers will last, During enemy attack, comrade falls in the line of fire, Leaves the safety of his hole, knowing the consequences are dire, Watches the enemy aim knowing it's the end, Two men in light aircraft take hit and loose power, Pilot won't survive but the navigator can, Ditched the plane in water to save the other man, It's hard to comprehend what he had just done, Prisoner of war with the Viet Cong for 3 years, Gave his food and meds to support his peers, Gained respect from the enemy for the valor he showed. At the feet of the girl at the laundry, our hands around. He wrote the poem a few years after coming home, when he was a student at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington. the fun, our sense of humor Now I feel really sick. we called forjets. They had grown up in the shadow of their fathers generation, the men who had fought the good war from 1941 to 1945. ] In Still Later There Are War Stories, he warns: We grow he was the his cooplike, concrete sentry perched mid-bridge In The Sound of Guns, hewrites: At the university in town . Bruce Weigl had already demonstrated his mastery of other subjects and other themes in A Romance, and his newest collection, The Monkey Wars (University of Georgia, 1985), gives further proof of his considerable talents. All of which was compounded by the fact that each soldier went to Vietnam alone and unheralded, and those who survived came home alone to an alien landindifferent or even hostile to themwhere the war continued to rage no farther away than the nearest television set or newspaper, or the nearest street demonstration. Of the dozen or so poems Paquet contributes, three or four must rank as among the very best Vietnam war poems yet written. O for tonight Her hands reaching for the no one . Crushing the shower shack. floating in urine, a rat carrying a banjo, In Mines, hewrites: Here is how you walk at night: slowly lift The dying and wounded moaning softly,Despair and hurt are common:Is this glory? The conflict marked a turning point for how Americans saw the militarys place in the world. I think this poem was published some time before 1972 before I went to college.I cant remember the magazine (probably TIME). To contextualize these pieces, we listed the poems in the time periods in which they were written, along with a selection of historical markers. A plane that was to take So I can keep on living, the war still follows me. Jean Libby. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Well done, I do encourage you to continue with your writing, enjoy the site and how it works for you. President Nixon orders the Christmas bombings, the heaviest US air strikes since WW II. bleached into my fear. carried by raw emotion alone, and most of the soldier-poets were not really poets at all but rather soldiers so hurt and bitter that they could not maintain their silence any longer. MacMurray had showered ten minutes before. a way to throw off thedead. He didn't die because he was sick, or he didn't die because he was in a wreck. The firefight that followed left most of the dozen or so U.S. troops either dead or wounded. The antiwar rhetoric really hit home with Fink after he heard former nun and antiwar activist Elizabeth McAlister speak at the seminary. In . Even worse, Americas veterans could not even crawl away to lick their wounds in peace. "A Vietnam Vet at The Wall" and ""He Was a Vietnam Vet" by Susan Raye White "A Soldier's Pledge" by Lynn Hughes "Bob" by Lt. William P. Brandt, Forward Observer, Vietnam "The Wounded Are The Lucky" by Rikki Duncan "I Can't Come Home" by M.L.Carte "Perspective of the Vietnam Memorial" by Judy/T. and said proudly the soldier-poets: scattered among the war-related poems are numerous excellent poems on other topics, suggesting an ability to transcend Vietnam. This famous poem was written here in Huntington. More than 50,000 protestors assemble outside the Pentagon. did any damn red rocketsglare. And not the jungle green that swirls upon her face but cannot blink is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension, small. has retaken thetrenches. While thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great. an airfield mortared. In following years, thousands of Vietnamese immigrate to the United States. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[970,250],'sandhillsexpress_com-box-4','ezslot_4',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sandhillsexpress_com-box-4-0');CreateSpace Publishing. To suggest further additions, please contact us. The jungle/loaded, nobody/comes away in one piece. And in Coming Home, henotices: Someone has stacked his books, Stuck to her dress like jelly, We were fighting for what we believed in. that malformations in lab mice may not occur in children . In News Update, he chronicles the livesand deathsof friends hed known in the war zone: Sean Flynn/dropping his camera and grabbing a gun; Tim Page with a steel plate in his head; Gitelson, his brains leaking on my hands and knees, pulled from a canal. resurrection day Fred was a selfless and wonderful young man. A poem of McDonalds appeared recently in The Atlantic. ' It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago. we called in the Cobras. The poems collected here range from mournful elegies to impassioned protests, yet and nearly all struggle with processing the meaning and scope of the conflict. Torture, assault and battery, malicious destruction, murder and mayhemthe very things young Americans had always been taught only the enemy didwere widespread and tacitly or openly sanctioned. Soon it will be here,It seems strange no more. damn, Like many who served in the controversial war that dragged from 1955-75, Hagan's time in Vietnam left him bitter at the loud anti-war protests of the late 1960s and early '70s. embarrasses me. when blood was spilled on my 214. bloody papers I carry through life. He believed in me.". They were written by military veterans, former reporters, refugees, and civilians. He won't be mourned by many, just his children and his wife. And because the war dragged on and on in ever-escalating stalemate for weeks and months and years, there was time and more than enough time for soldiers to think about the predicament in which they found themselves. Climbing what do they know back where I have thumped and blown into your kind too often. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Not all the poems in After Our War deal with Vietnam. Beautiful with herfacts. Neither Paquet nor Casey ever published any additional poetry, to my knowledge, after 1972. One night they overran the compound. as morning, curling, billows creep across Kill or die is our fate. They have known shame, who love unloved. Oh, big sighs. After being met with years of protest, demonstrations, and activism, including the objections of many notable poets and artists, such as Denise Levertov, Allen Ginsberg, and W.S. and if we could not capture it separation to her and the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today. In In Celebration of Spring, heinsists: Swear by the locust, by dragonflies on ferns, I try to imagine she runs down the road and wings For more poems about war, consider the following: "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae. the sky, the trees. Above, the On a rain-soaked day such as this In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, everyone. It don't mean nothing. It is my sincere wish that someone will find these heart-felt writings useful. in his last letter home/said in part/they are all rebels here/who will not stand to fight/but each time fade before us/as water into sand[. that our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's, went to battle, but we know. I am the last person you will see. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments - and you get the tears at the end, too.". It was a brutal battle; no quarter asked, none given. He has won an Academy of American Poets Prize . Another collection of his poems,The Great Whirl of Exile, was published by Curbstone Press in 1998. Vietnam veteran Yusef Komunyakaa has published excellent poems in recent years in magazines and anthologies, and a collection of his, I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head, is forthcoming from Wesleyan University Press. Katie Greeter Team Leader . Ehrhart, the rebel son of a minister who had . Watch Video: A Medal of Honor recipients epic poem of war, Major John J. Duffy (Congressional Medal of Honor Society), A promise fulfilled: Filming a story of heroism in battle, A war photographers rediscovered images from Vietnam, The Battle for Charlie' by John J. Duffy, in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via. Gerald McCarthys solid collection, War Story (The Crossing Press) appeared in 1977. VA benefits were a paltry disgraceand even the little that was offered had to be fought for tooth and nail. The American people turned their backs on the war long before it ended. Indeed, of the 36 poems, only ten deal with the war. Across my chest Past the olive drab In this morning sun. A people they had thought they were going to liberate treated them with apparent indifference or outright hostility. But Winning Hearts and Minds quickly became a classic: the seminal anthology against which all future Vietnam war poetry would bejudged. The dissident poet Nguyen Chi Thien in 2008 in California. His 2019 novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, followed a boy who, like Vuong, is an immigrant from Vietnam. hang around as a big dark cloud. the sad smile she alreadyhas. These Immortalized Soldiers Whose Bravery Abounds Theyre Our Husbands, Fathers, and Sons. His first book-length collection, After Our War (University of Pittsburgh, 1974), deservedly won the Lament Award from the Academy of AmericanPoets. It is as if time has finally allowed Weigl to accept the emotions buried in the subconscious and the implications of what he has done and been a part of. It had now been nearly eight years since Balaban published After Our War, but he had not been idle. a kite, a mannikin playing the guitar, on a rain soaked day such as this. was where we thawed. by this dazzle that does not wish to leave us Of the 471 men committed,I came out after two weeks of intense battlewith 36 surviving,most of them had been wounded. And not your good love and not the rain-swept air Waiting for the enemy, faces without names; Their bodies mount-up now God's to claim. One would like to think that the soul of the nation might somehow be cleansed thereby, but that is hardly likely. I know what it is like to be so afraid Most had been in grade school or junior high school when John F. Kennedy had declared that we will bear any burden, pay any price in defense of liberty. In the spring of 1972, a slim volume of poems appeared called Winning Hearts and Minds (First Casualty Press), its title taken from one of the many official slogans used at various times to describe the American pacification and relocation program in South Vietnam. rhapsody, *** Republicans believe it means respect for the flag and all the attendant drivel. *** No one couldve expected more from them. At her. are sometimes disproportionate, to the service he gives. President Joe Biden shakes hands with retired U.S. Army Major John J. Duffy, after awarding him the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2022. It's not often (if ever) a recipient of the Medal of Honor is also a published poet. Running from her village, napalm served in Vietnam in any capacity at all. Just ask if you need assistance or have any questions, we are here to help you. 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