WHEN WE WERE CALLED By Bob Staranowicz 101st Airborne 1969-70

When we were called
We answered
When we were called
We went

To help an ailing nation
To help a friend in need
And stop the spread of communism
And help control its spread

At first we were seen as heroes
The defender of the planet
At first we were supported
In the war and how we ran it

But then the horrors were discovered
The terror recounted every day
The people of this nation changed
Their minds at our dismay

For we were sent to do a job
Although our hands were bound
We did our best, we met the challenge
But in the end, the job - undone

We fought, we died and we were maimed,
We returned to our home in utter shame
No heroes welcome were we given
No one but us were to be blamed

But time has passed and minds have changed
And in some discourse, we are seen as hero
But the pain of rejection still lies in our hearts
From a time when we were meeting the foe

As time does pass by
I am sure we will transfigure
The hardness developed
From the treatment so cruel

When we were called we answered
When we were called we went
And if I had to repeat the chore
I do it again, do it once more

Bob Staranowicz
Copyright Feb. 1998
(With Permission)