It
has been over 30 years now,
Your tour in Vietnam has ended, but,
it is still with you!
Having
not been there, it's hard for me to understand,
how that experience has imprinted your mind, heart and
being, but, I do know,
it is still with you!
Maybe
it was because you were so young and impressionable
back then.
You were open to all the excitement of being a young
man, facing your future
and, you were thrown there, to "Hell" on earth.
It wasn't fair, but the reality of war dampened your
spirit, and,
it is still with you!
Sometimes,
I feel you have this wall around you that nothing can
penetrate.
Can you ever let your guard down and let your true emotions
come through?
Can't you ever let it go?
Why, oh why,
is it still with you?
Listen!
You need to know this.
Your fighting, as well as your survival, was for us,
your brothers and sisters back home.
We could say "thank you" until we're blue
in the face,
but the words to truly thank you for what you did for
us simply don't exist.
We can welcome you home with "open arms" now.
We
know it's much too late to let you know that you truly
were our heroes, but,
we want you to know, not only that, but also that our
total lack of appreciation back then,
is still with us!