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Was in Vietnam in 67-68 and was not long before I met what is RAGE,     After seeing and feeling how unforgiving the jungle was, it was like a cage,     Trapped in the HOT HUMID thick air that you could hardly breathe,     you just kept moving through its thickness and going on too achieve,     just as you were thinking all is OK out here in the deep bush,     was then snipers would open fire on us making our blood rush.     Seemed to always get somebody down and had to get him out,     in the thick sticky air you could smell the blood and the spent powder.     Even today those smells come back to me at anytime anyplace.     A smell triggers the flashback and it all seems to be back in your face,     The small attacks such as that were nothing to compare what lay ahead,     for what lay ahead would devastate me as to the many dead,         Oh so many had died on the side of those hills in DakTo,     Yes, even today it comes back to me and I wonder why not me too?     So many friends that I knew and cared so much about were now gone,     after that it was then that I wanted to never be close too anyone.         What my eyes saw and my nose smelled and my tongue tasted,     would repulse anyone back here that have no clue as too what was wasted!     All the screams and those yells that rang out in the thick air were of pain,     so what do all of you back here protesting feel? and what is for you to gain!     Was such a tragedy, not supporting us over there all of you not to care!         Many went down bloody and wet, and you back here all scared.     RAGE, yes it comes and goes but behind the rage is all the HURT!     The pain of knowing what was lost and back here tie-dye shirts.     Jane Fonda in all her GREAT GLORY up there in HANOI,     Oh, how I wish she could have walked in all of our boots in the jungle,     If she could have and saw and lived as we did in there she would be humble         Yes, is history now but for many of us the WAR rages on and is real,     some say that was 30 years ago to us it is today, yet you say no big deal!     Rage soon turns to HATE and it is hard to live like this for many,         Hope that my God shows those and yes allows them the smells and sounds too     of those that gave it all just answering our countries call!     As I see what is going on today all is the same way except for one thing,     no demonstrations of protests too the degree that it was back then.     This causes me RAGE, maybe no draft cards is it? But yet those same people are     seeing RAGE in our schools and am so glad that mine are through school.           Are these Vietnam vets kids?  No, can't blame this one on us this time!  Hope and     pray that our children will begin to see that there is hope and that America is the     Land of The Free and the Home of The Brave.  Not of hate and rage.           Parents start out early not late, if you late you will see HATE AND RAGE!       Love is the KEY to your child's heart use it and open it up!         © by April 27, 1999 Jim Simpson 173rd AIRBORNE BDE. C 2/503 Infantry 1967-1968

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