Straightshooter2
US Veteran
Peter, Paul and Mary "Where Have All The Flowers Gone"
There are a lot of others but that one especially.
There are a lot of others but that one especially.
Whats THE song, that makes you think of the Vietnam War?
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There are a LOT of them but THE one that ebodies the era the most to me is
All Along the Watchtower (what it was like to be there)
Followed closely by
Run through the Jungle (also what it was like to be there)
Paint It Black (what it was like to come back from there)
4 Dead in Ohio (what it was like to be here at the time)
Fortunate Son (distain for those who dodged their duty to go there)
Such a difficult time, but an almost unmatched time of really great music - some of it incredibly sad though.
All Along the Watchtower (what it was like to be there)
Followed closely by
Run through the Jungle (also what it was like to be there)
Paint It Black (what it was like to come back from there)
4 Dead in Ohio (what it was like to be here at the time)
Fortunate Son (distain for those who dodged their duty to go there)
Such a difficult time, but an almost unmatched time of really great music - some of it incredibly sad though.
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star1
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Billy don't be a Hero
a 1974 pop song that was first a hit in the UK for Paper Lace and then some months later it was a hit in the US for Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. The song was written by two British song writers Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
a 1974 pop song that was first a hit in the UK for Paper Lace and then some months later it was a hit in the US for Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. The song was written by two British song writers Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
Everyone,
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. I haven't thought of many of these songs for a long time and many I never associated with the war but after reading all your comments I can see a lot clearer now.
A big THANK YOU for all who served and came back and a great big heartfelt Appreciation for those who didn't make it home.
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. I haven't thought of many of these songs for a long time and many I never associated with the war but after reading all your comments I can see a lot clearer now.
A big THANK YOU for all who served and came back and a great big heartfelt Appreciation for those who didn't make it home.
caduceus
US Veteran
USS Oriskany cva 34 Salute
Ringo Kid informed we sailed on the same ship, probably different times. Chief would never dispose of such fine songs
For me 71-73. Supported crash crew on deck, never got use to you guys stacking all of the bombs on skids and then going to sleep on them... different times.
Ringo Kid informed we sailed on the same ship, probably different times. Chief would never dispose of such fine songs
For me 71-73. Supported crash crew on deck, never got use to you guys stacking all of the bombs on skids and then going to sleep on them... different times.
This one came out several years after the war, but tells quite a story - Still in Saigon by Charlie Daniels
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qV4IVBWjnI[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qV4IVBWjnI[/ame]
handejector
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I haven't read the whole thread, so these may have been mentioned already-
"When the Music's Over" by The Doors, cause EVERY Filipino band in country played at least a 20 minute version. Maybe an encore.
"San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)" which was always sung to or sung by everybody who was short. We had trouble finding flowers and had no hair to put them in.
I didn't really want to think of the war---
Kent State happened during my tour. I heard an idiot lifer tell another one "We shoulda joined the guard- THAT's where the action is!" I took exception to the remark.
Hendrix died a week before I rotated.
Joplin died a week after I got home.
Morrison was dead within a year.
Duane Allman died about a year after I rotated; Berry Oakley followed him a year later.
Within three years of rotating, I had lost friends and acquaintances to wrecks, suicide, overdoses, and homicide.
It almost seemed like Death remembered being close, and would not let me get far away from him.
Boocoo others were in jail, the bottle, the pipe, or running the spike. I had a pretty good acquaintance with the mash myself.
In the decades since, I've watched a few friends slowly dissolve away from exposure to the big Orange.
Waste, waste, waste........
The term PTSD had not yet been coined.
Meanwhile, the clerks and cooks and truck drivers of WW II were still around, and very willing to tell us they fought the "real" War.
TV was very generous in recognizing Viet vets in the 70s- you could tune in almost any night and see a nutted-up/drugged-up vet on the roof with a rifle, always wearing a head band and a fatigue shirt.
It often behooved one to put "None" under military service on a job application in the 70s. I remember an interview being abruptly ended when the guy heard I had done a tour.
Saigon fell around my 25th birthday, and we were awarded the dubious distinction of having fought the first war America had ever lost. Again, some of the WW II vets took great pleasure in reminding us of that.
Needless to say, there weren't a lot of Viet vets in the VFW or American Legion according to my observation.
We just went on livin life, tryin to keep the lid on, listening to our fuze timers tickin.......
Lots of songs reminded me of Vietnam in those early years. I didn't really want to be reminded.
[/Venting]
Edited to add-
If your demons chase you, get some help. It can be a long way home if you go alone.
THANKS for your service.
"When the Music's Over" by The Doors, cause EVERY Filipino band in country played at least a 20 minute version. Maybe an encore.
"San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)" which was always sung to or sung by everybody who was short. We had trouble finding flowers and had no hair to put them in.
I didn't really want to think of the war---
Kent State happened during my tour. I heard an idiot lifer tell another one "We shoulda joined the guard- THAT's where the action is!" I took exception to the remark.
Hendrix died a week before I rotated.
Joplin died a week after I got home.
Morrison was dead within a year.
Duane Allman died about a year after I rotated; Berry Oakley followed him a year later.
Within three years of rotating, I had lost friends and acquaintances to wrecks, suicide, overdoses, and homicide.
It almost seemed like Death remembered being close, and would not let me get far away from him.
Boocoo others were in jail, the bottle, the pipe, or running the spike. I had a pretty good acquaintance with the mash myself.
In the decades since, I've watched a few friends slowly dissolve away from exposure to the big Orange.
Waste, waste, waste........
The term PTSD had not yet been coined.
Meanwhile, the clerks and cooks and truck drivers of WW II were still around, and very willing to tell us they fought the "real" War.
TV was very generous in recognizing Viet vets in the 70s- you could tune in almost any night and see a nutted-up/drugged-up vet on the roof with a rifle, always wearing a head band and a fatigue shirt.
It often behooved one to put "None" under military service on a job application in the 70s. I remember an interview being abruptly ended when the guy heard I had done a tour.
Saigon fell around my 25th birthday, and we were awarded the dubious distinction of having fought the first war America had ever lost. Again, some of the WW II vets took great pleasure in reminding us of that.
Needless to say, there weren't a lot of Viet vets in the VFW or American Legion according to my observation.
We just went on livin life, tryin to keep the lid on, listening to our fuze timers tickin.......
Lots of songs reminded me of Vietnam in those early years. I didn't really want to be reminded.
[/Venting]
Edited to add-
If your demons chase you, get some help. It can be a long way home if you go alone.
THANKS for your service.
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Well said Lee... you did your share, and saw more than that...hat's off!
Hate to rain on the parade....
"Ballad of the Green Berets" was a neat song and I liked it. But read about Barry Sadler. He seemed to follow violence or it followed him.
BTW He was true to life in his actions in Vietnam which includes getting punctured by a **** smeared punji stick but he finished his patrol, but got a serious leg infection that took some rough treatments but he recovered completely and voluntarily gave up his rights to "The Ballad of the Green Beret".
PS I was acquainted with a GB. He was a short little runt, but you could tell that it would be better not to mess with him.
"Ballad of the Green Berets" was a neat song and I liked it. But read about Barry Sadler. He seemed to follow violence or it followed him.
BTW He was true to life in his actions in Vietnam which includes getting punctured by a **** smeared punji stick but he finished his patrol, but got a serious leg infection that took some rough treatments but he recovered completely and voluntarily gave up his rights to "The Ballad of the Green Beret".
PS I was acquainted with a GB. He was a short little runt, but you could tell that it would be better not to mess with him.
WTG
WTG man. That's pretty progressive. In my high school they would have shut the station down. That was their way of 'dealing' with everything.
WTG man. That's pretty progressive. In my high school they would have shut the station down. That was their way of 'dealing' with everything.
I'd almost forgotten......
PTSD and orange were two of the worst things to come out of the war.
You don't want to be reminded but the music sure was great back then.
And thanks to all. To those that came back and those who didn't.
PS I'm still mad as hell about the treatment our guys got from their own people on returning to the States. That rates with some of the worst things in American history.
I've watched a few friends slowly dissolve away from exposure to the big Orange.
Waste, waste, waste........
The term PTSD had not yet been coined.
Lots of songs reminded me of Vietnam in those early years. I didn't really want to be reminded.
THANKS for your service.
PTSD and orange were two of the worst things to come out of the war.
You don't want to be reminded but the music sure was great back then.
And thanks to all. To those that came back and those who didn't.
PS I'm still mad as hell about the treatment our guys got from their own people on returning to the States. That rates with some of the worst things in American history.
CustomChevyGuy
Member
For What it's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY[/ame]
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the ringo kid
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I admit I haven't thought of it as a nam reminder song but, its good none the less.
OP
the ringo kid
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"Ballad of the Green Berets" was a neat song and I liked it. But read about Barry Sadler. He seemed to follow violence or it followed him.
BTW He was true to life in his actions in Vietnam which includes getting punctured by a **** smeared punji stick but he finished his patrol, but got a serious leg infection that took some rough treatments but he recovered completely and voluntarily gave up his rights to "The Ballad of the Green Beret".
PS I was acquainted with a GB. He was a short little runt, but you could tell that it would be better not to mess with him.
When I was in law enforcement, one of the guys I worked with the most, had also been a Green Beret. Robert Coley was a character and a hoot. When he was seriously ticked off, he'd cuss a blue streak in Vietnamese. Was funny as hell to witness his mean mood.
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"I still hear your sea waves crashing.....while I watch the cannons flashing......I clean my gun, and dream of Galveston"
"Galveston oh, Galveston....I am so afraid of dying.....before I dry the tears she's crying....
handejector
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It might help you to know "Sky Pilot" is the nickname for the Chaplain.
For Pandora fans out there, Pandora has a "Vietnam" station, which I listened to yesterday while cleaning up an old M&P 6" I bought last week. I didn't think all of the songs were exactly Vietnam, but most listed on this thread were in the rotation. Bought several over the afternoon to put in my iPhone playlist . . .
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