Chapter 17

In 1959 Communist North Vietnam forces were steadily trying to take over South Vietnam. I was outraged at the Anti-American protests that sprang up when the government decided to help the South Vietnamese people retain their independence. How could people in a country so full of freedom want to deny that right to other countries?

Is my country worth it?
What have I been given?
Freedom, I can breath and say what I think
Religion, I worship how I wish
Voice, I am a person
Choice, I don’t have to, but I can

Is my country worth it?
My face is unveiled
My body is my own
I am a woman, but yet I vote
I work, but not only at home

While we sleep in peace
On a quiet winter night
Men die in the deep
As they bravely fight.

When we wake up in the morning
And when we grumble and whine
The soldiers in Iraq are fighting
against the terrorist crime.

We care not about what's going on
We just sit and complain and yawn.
While the soldiers are giving up their lives.
Only for one.

If we have not a family member in battle
We do not appreciate
The work that they do for us.
As they fight against war and hate.

Where you are, nobody knows
“Missing in action” is how the story goes
It was a secret ambush, or maybe a failed attack
But in any case, you never came back

For family and friends, life won’t be the same,
And you can be sure, they’ll remember your name
But as for your country, you might feel betrayed
You might be thinking, “They’ll forget in a day”