Who the Hell

Who the Hell were those Chopper pilots

That flew in through the rain
Who the Hell were those men
Who picked up the bloodied and in pain

Who was it that brought us our ammo
Who was it that pulled us out
Who flew in through a hail of gunfire
Past all the fear tears and doubt

Who was it that was exhausted
But kept the blades level and steady
Who no matter what time it was
Always seemed to be at the ready

Who took us into the war
And then took us back out again
Who watched us in anguish cry
Over the body of a fallen friend

Who flew in with the mail
With letters of family love
Who flew missions of mercy
And could still bring down fire from above

Who the Hell were those Chopper pilots
Who gave it everything they had
Like every fighting man before and after me
I mean it when I say

Those Magnificent Bastards were bad


Neils
2:46 pm
04/18/2010
*
with specific respect in honor of
CW-2, and Apache's at Dawn.
To all whose lives were affected,
even though they be gone,

By Hueys Cobras and Apaches
Or others now known by different names
The heart guts and bravery that fly them
I still believe

Remain the same

N....again

I was in Okinawa when I was thirteen and first saw the Marines...

Some kid said on the bus ride from Kadena to Naha...

"Hey! Look!

There are the Marines!"

And we all ran, jumped over to the side of the bus to look.

They were out there runnin on some almost a road goin over a hill.

*********************
*********************

It scared me, thrilled me, and was beyond me.

Five years later I was in the Marines.

I still do 7 mile runs with a 30 lb ruk.

I do it to honor my brothers of long ago
I do it to honor my brothers of today
I do it to get down in it
I do it to honor the one true honest

And hard way



Neils
11:06 pm
02/22/2010
*
with all due respect

N....again

I've killed some gooks

I killed them in the daytime
I killed them at night
I killed them with claymores
I killed them in a vicious fire fight

I killed them in the sunshine
I killed them in the rain
I've shot gunned them down
Blew out their brains

I've hunted them in jungles
I've hunted them in the hills
I've reported their location
And Artillery got the kills

I've watched Phantoms drop napalm
I've watched gun ships make their runs
I have picked up scattered intell
And collected the dead enemy's guns

I've fed belts into an M-60
I've slugged it through the mud
I did whatever it took
To get a chance to

Get at their blood




Neils
4:42 pm
10/08/2008
*
transcribed this time
4:45 pm
10/08/2008


N....again

This killing room

They were our vision
And we were theirs
As stoically resigned
They crouched and stared

Search and Destroy
Contempt for tears
Endless boredom
Stark shear fear

Different cultures
Collision course
Used a best
And valuable resource

Focus back in
And on to a time
Right or wrong
Indifference climbed

Onto the backs
Of young men's shoulders
Who carried the weight
Of being soldiers

Who were leaders
Who followed whom
Come back in
To this killing room

Live here now
Believe again
You are important
To lovers brothers

And friends




Neils
*
written about 1970
*
transcribed this time
11:56 am
11/14/2007



N.....again

Lillipution Vision

Black Moon
Red Stars
Green Jungle

Of the mistress
Who comes back at night

To reclaim my soul
From the flash
Of explosions
Burning bright light

Phosphorous
Tentacles
Unfold

White flowers from
An overhead view

Plumes whose petals
Extending
Draw me ever closer
To you

Where
Metal
Keeps on rending

Incapacitated human flesh
And as anguished cries give ground

I awake
Sit straight up
Into the silence
Sweat pouring down



Neils
*written about 1970
*
transcribed this time
11:51 am
11/14/2007



N......again

A nameless song

Let me die in the dust
An unknown man
Before traitors and despots
Use me as clay in their hands



Neils
6:08 pm
10/05/2007
*
transcribed this time
8:37 pm
10/15/2007



N.....again

Peace

Leaning against sandbags

And reloading magazines



Peace is the morning mist lying

Close to the ground

The sun just awakening

The birds stirring with their sounds



As I see the lifeless bodies of my

Enemies laid out before my eyes

Knowing I have stood shoulder to shoulder

With men whose loyalty knew no compromise







Neils

10:39 pm

05/25/2005

Doc

Doc

Doc was always there
In the heart and under fire

He always had the powder
That we’d put on our feet
When we came back out of
The field tired aching and beat

He always had our salt tablets
And a kind word or two
Not that he didn’t carry a rifle
And couldn’t take a well aimed view

We told him about our families
Or about a girl back home
He somehow managed to make us
All feel a little less alone

Doc

Even when you didn’t see him
You always knew he’d be right there
No matter how bad it got
Or what was flying through the air

There he was sliding in
And reaching in his bag
Cutting uniforms open
And turning them to rags

While putting compress bandages
On open wounds bleeding red
Doc kept you patched up long enough
That you didn’t end up dead

Not every single time but it
Wasn’t because he didn’t try
Doc was battle hardened
Yet compassionate

Doc was a Helleva guy


Doc was there in the Fox holes
When we’d stand the ridge line
He always had some Tabasco sauce
He always had the time

He seemed to be everywhere
Or at least when you needed him most
He was always doing something real
He never did that slide by ghost

He gave us our shots
And acted like a mother hen
To all of us professional young
Dangerous psychotics…he was

One on whom we could depend

I remember once when we got back
And were going through the chow line
There was an idiot serving that
Was letting his mouth run over time

And he was giving at least every
Other one of us a ration of sh*t
We were exhausted so mostly we tried to
Ignore his ignorant self indulgent bit

Till he got to Doc and I don’t even
Remember what it was he said
But every body just stopped cold
And this guy looked into eyes

That had seen the dead

And he just knew even before
He got that sudden hand on his shirt
That one could go too far and it
Could definitely get you hurt

And as he was hoisted up
He quickly quietly apologized
And then Doc said it was alright
With just a nod and look from his eyes

So we put him back down
But he knew not to do that again
Because Doc was one of us
He was our Corpsman our friend

Oh yeah he knew better
Than to ever do that again

Doc

Even when you didn’t see him
You always knew he’d be right there
No matter how bad it got
Or what was flying through the air

There he was sliding in
And reaching in his bag
Cutting uniforms open
And turning them to rags

While putting compress bandages
On open wounds bleeding red
Doc kept you patched up long enough
That you didn’t end up dead

Not every single time but it
Wasn’t because he didn’t try
Doc was battle hardened
Yet compassionate

Doc was a Helleva guy




Neils
11:47 am
07/03/2006
*
Doc refers to the Navy Corpsman
That serve with the United States
Marine Corp. The one I speak of
Here specifically served with our
Combat line unit in Vietnam. We
Always considered him one of us
Well actually Doc was more like living
Proof that Bastards do have brothers.
We loved him then and do now and
Some of us wouldn’t be here to love
Anything if it wasn’t for ……. Him


N.....again