Once I Was A Soldier -

Once I was a soldier
And I fought on foreign sands for you
Once I was a hunter
And I brought home fresh meat for you
Once I was a lover
And I searched behind your eyes for you
And soon there’ll be another
To tell you I was just a lie

And sometimes I wonder
Just for a while
Will you ever remember me?

Though you have forgotten
All of our rubbish dreams
I find myself searching
Through the ashes of our ruins
For the days when we smiled
And the hours that ran wild
With the magic of our eyes
And the silence of our words

And sometimes I wonder
Just for a while
Will you ever remember me? . . . . Ever remember me?


I was Navy 68-72
Many friends Army and Marines on the shore -
in the cities, fields, jungles and mountains.
I'm out on the water - I'm still involved.

Long, lonely nights - on the deck of the Annaboat
Navy & Air Force air strikes westward overhead.
Fire on the mountains. Lights in the sky. Return Maybe - Maybe not!
POW-MIA.
Thinking of Loved Ones at home far away and out of touch.
Praying, making deals, wishing and hoping and dreaming.
Losing sleep I'll never get back. For what? -
to be mis understood, mis guided - mis led -
Am I lost? - Will I see home and where is she?
Is she lost? I cannot find her. - What's all this for, really?
Why?

Written in 1969
USS ANNAPOLIS AGMR-1
South China Sea and
Gulf of Tonkin
Allen, MR B340002