P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs

251 songs · chronological · A–Z by artist

Annotations and notes by Justin A. Brummer

Entries are numbered (#1, #2 …) for reference on this page; the numbers shift when entries are added or split.

American former prisoners of war cheering as their aircraft took off from Hanoi, North Vietnam - Operation Homecoming, February 1973

M.I.A. (Missing in Action) is a military status assigned to those reported missing while in the service - either (1) wounded, (2) killed, (3) a prisoner of war (P.O.W.), or (4) deserted. After the US-North Vietnamese peace agreement in 1973, 591 US prisoners of war returned to the US, known as Operation Homecoming. The US reported 1,350 Americans as either P.O.W.s or M.I.A.s, and about 1,200 killed in action (K.I.A.) but body not recovered (B.N.R.).

Those in Vietnam under the status M.I.A. and P.O.W. are listed by the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), part of the US Department of Defense, established to provide centralised management of these affairs.¹ Many of those listed as M.I.A. were in fact involved in fatal incidents in which their bodies were not recovered, yet the military officially declared them M.I.A. The Richard Nixon administration combined the statistics of those classified M.I.A. and P.O.W. (which included those K.I.A. / B.N.R.) thus creating the impression that hundreds of US prisoners remained in Vietnam following Operation Homecoming in 1973. This fueled the M.I.A./P.O.W. issue throughout the late 1970s and 1980s.² This topic frequently appeared in Vietnam War songs and films.

One of the key themes of the war was the plight of US P.O.W.s, with over 250 songs recorded. Early 60s references were minor. But from the 1968 election, public attention increased significantly, with over 35 P.O.W. records released from 1969-1972. The Nixon administration used the issue to drum up support for their peace plan, which emphasised the need to secure the return of the P.O.W.s. Merle Haggard’s “I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me” (1972) gave voice to many P.O.W.’s fears, while Florida pop singer Nancy sang “I Promise I’ll Wait” (1969) about a sweetheart staying true.

The vast majority of songs about P.O.W.s, over 60, were released from 1973 to the present, with a significant volume in the 1980s. As part of the Paris Peace Accords, 591 P.O.W.s returned to the US, called “Operation Homecoming”, featuring in Funkadelic’s “March to the Witch’s Castle” (1973). Johnny Carver’s country pop “Yellow Ribbon” (1973), a sign of remembrance in the 70s for the P.O.W.s, sold over 900,000 copies by the end of the year. However, many people believed that hundreds of P.O.W.s remained lost in the jungles of Vietnam, as seen in a spate of early 80s films, such as First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984), and represented in dozens of songs, such as “They Left Our Buddies (In Vietnam)” (1987) by Tom Fear & Larry Quick, which claimed that there were “2,413 Americans unaccounted for..549 were in Laos, and 82 were lost in Cambodia”.

Released during the key war years, the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as the draft, napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism.

While the war goes back to the 1954 Geneva conference, following the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964), the US significantly expanded its presence in the region and its defence of South Vietnam, and thus using this date as the beginning of the core war years. These run to the collapse of South Vietnam (30 April 1975), in two periods: (a) 1964-1972, the years of major US combat involvement, up to the peace agreement; (b) 1973-1975, from the Paris Peace Accords (27 January 1973), which brought US troops and prisoners of war home, to the collapse of South Vietnam.

#1 Ashley Dees Missing in Action (Whereabouts Unknown) 1960 · Single · Beneath Pearl Harbor Waters / Missing in Action (Whereabouts Unknown) · Star-Win # 45-7002 · USA

Star-Win 45-7002 B, cream label with blue print, Star-Win Record Corp., Scottsdale, Arizona; "Missing in Action ("Whereabouts Unknown")" (Ashley Dees), vocal with string combo, Scottsdale Publ. Co., BMI, 2:47.

The picture sleeve front shows a photograph of a battleship burning and sinking at Pearl Harbor, headed "Beneath Pearl Harbor Waters by Ashley Dees", Star-Win Recordings, Scottsdale, Arizona, with the text "Especially written by Ashley Dees to commemorate 'The Arizona and its crew, eleven hundred and two', lest we forget 'the courage they displayed and the sacrifice they made'", and "Also Missing in Action".

The back, headed "U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Foundation Presents Recordings", prints the full lyrics of both songs, signed Ashley Dees, with "These Songs Property of Scottsdale Publishing Co." and "This record given to a contributor to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Foundation." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic M.I.A. WW2 Korea

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#2 Jimmy Thomason How Long (Prisoner's Lament) 1961 · Single · How Long (Prisoner's Lament) / Dear Son · Cenco # 117 · USA

How Long (Prisoner's Lament) (Thomason, Jimmy)

Country. P.O.W., prisoner of war song.
1961 - Vietnam-era - but may be in reference to other war (Korea?)
Narrated by the P.O.W.

Cenco Records 117 (117-A), "A Division of Spry Record Corp.", red label with silver print; "How Long (Prisoner's Lament)" (E. C. and Lois Mills), 3:00, Class Publishing (BMI); produced by Johnny Woodson. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ CountryWestern Swing

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#3 Jerry Reed Fightin' for the U.S.A. 1965 · Single · Fightin' for the U.S.A. / Navy Blues · RCA Victor # 47-8730 · USA

Country singer Jerry Reed (1937-2008) released the patriotic Vietnam song "Fightin' for the U.S.A." (RCA Victor # 47-8730). The b-side, "Navy Blues" , presumably related to the Vietnam conflict in light of the a-side, was an instrumental number, with acoustic guitar finger-picking and an up-tempo drum beat. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, his career mainly centred around Nashville, Tennessee, and this track had a country-rock sound. Billboard said on its release, in December 1965, that it's "a rocker with strong message lyric. Swinging dance beat and the exciting duel-track vocal has a winning sound from start to finish. Could prove a monster!"¹ Well, it did not prove to be a chart monster, but it did have strong lyrics.

A man received his draft card and went to fight in Vietnam for "glory and the USA" . The narrator described his experiences: "crawling through the swamps...bullets flying right and left" . The soldier then sent a message to the anti-war protesters: "take your complaints to Uncle Sam" - because the soldiers were just following orders and doing their duty. At the end of the guitar solo, the listener discovered that the soldier had been captured by the Vietcong - the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam: "I got captured by the Vietcong, for a while I thought I was gonna get hung, but they just beat me...stretched me and squashed me, tried to brainwash me, but I snuck away" . So this goes down as a prisoner of war (P.O.W.) song, one of the first Vietnam singles to address this issue.

RCA Victor 47-8730, white "Not for Sale" promotional label; producer Chet Atkins; Lowery Music Co. Inc., BMI. "Fightin' for the U.S.A." (Jerry R. Hubbard), SWKM 2862, 2:05, marked "Plug Side"; flip side "Navy Blues" (Jerry R. Hubbard), SWKM 2863, 1:56. Made in U.S.A. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

Themes: Draft Patriotic P.O.W. VC

Genres: ♪ CountryNashville Sound

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#4 Jerry Reed Navy Blues 1965 · Single · Fightin' for the U.S.A. / Navy Blues · RCA Victor # 47-8730 · USA

Annotation: see “Fightin' for the U.S.A.” above (same release).

Theme: Patriotic

Genres: ♪ CountryNashville Sound

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#5 Dolores Hawkins A Few Miles From Saigon 1965 · Single · A Few Miles From Saigon / Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe · Carney # 1007 · USA

The song "A Few Miles From Saigon"

"A few miles from Saigon is the end of the earth

Carney Records 45-1007 (S4KM 9350), yellow label, Box 834, Greenwood Lake, New York; "A Few Miles From Saigon" (R. Carney, B. Stegmeyer), time 2:51, Kati Kris Mus. Co., ASCAP; arranged and conducted by Bill Stegmeyer. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

#6 Dorothy Norwood The Soldier From Viet Nam 1966 · Album · The Soldier From Viet Nam · Savoy # 14157 · USA

The gospel song "The Soldier From Viet Nam" (Savoy Records # 14157) is one of the earliest tracks that referenced the M.I.A. / P.O.W. issue during the Vietnam era - most of them appeared from 1968 onwards. Performed by Dorothy Norwood, born in Atlanta, Georgia, she later moved to Chicago and performed with Mahalia Jackson, Albertina Walker, and the gospel group The Caravans. The recording sounds like it came from within a church, with the congregants clapping and singing along with the choir. It started with the story of a soldier "drafted to Vietnam" and his father (the minister of a church) being informed that "his son's missing in action" . However, he soon discovered that in fact "he is a prisoner of war" . The narration then switched to the first person, taking the perspective of the soldier. He told the listener that while a prison they gave him water and bread, and kept him in a dark room. The captors also "beat me and kicked me around" . Throughout his ordeal he depended on god and the prayers from people back home. Thus, this song contained a strong religious element.

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. M.I.A. Religion

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkGospel

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Draft Songs▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#7 Johnnie & Wigg Destination Viet-Nam 1966 · Single · Destination Viet-Nam / America Awaken · Echo [Middletown] # 1008 · USA

Credited on the record as Johnnie & Wigg and the Harmony Boys.

Destination Viet-Nam (Johnny & Wig and the Harmony Boys)

Echo Records "High Fidelity" 45-1008, black and silver label, 45 rpm, "Sacred Series Recorded April 9, 66, Middletown, Ohio"; side A "Destination Viet-Nam" (Jones-Robinson), time 2:21 (1044-45-1008-A); side B "America Awaken" (Betty Price Dupps), time 3:55 (1044-45-1008-B); both Acuff-Rose, BMI; Johnnie & Wigg and the Harmony Boys. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Patriotic K.I.A. M.I.A. Religion

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#8 Colleen Lovett Wait for Me, Sue 1967 · Single · 帰らぬ少年兵 / 恋する少年兵 [Freckle-Faced Soldier / Wait for Me, Sue] · Dot # SJET-1093 · Japan

Credited on the record as コリーン・ラベット.

B-side of the Japanese single only (Dot SJET-1093, Golden Couple Series, also numbered SDOT-1016; Victor Company of Japan). The US single (Dot 16832) has "Go-Go Girl" on the B-side. US issue: Dot 45-16832 (MB-20641), "Ultra High Fidelity" black Dot label dated 2-66; "Freckle-Faced Soldier" (C. Lovett–T. Phillips), Wood River Music Co., ASCAP, time 2:12; Colleen Lovett with Teddy Phillips' Orch.; "Dot Records, Inc., Hollywood, California – A Division of Paramount Pictures Corporation".

The Japanese picture sleeve, Dot SJET-1093 (SDOT-1016), "Stereo / Golden Couple Series", bills "帰らぬ少年兵 / 恋する少年兵" ("Freckle-Faced Soldier" / "Wait For Me, Sue") sung by コリーン・ラベット, and its back prints the full English lyrics of both songs: "Freckle-Faced Soldier" tells of an eighteen-year-old who writes home from Vietnam, then never writes again, his mother receiving a medal of honour, while "Wait For Me, Sue" tells of a girl waiting after a "Missing in action" telegram.

"Manufactured by Victor Record Company Ltd., Japan, by agreement with Cosdel Inc."; 発売元 日本ビクター株式会社; price ¥400. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Home Front Perspective M.I.A. Lost Love

Genre: ♪ Teen Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#9 Ken Wright and the Palmetto Playboys While Daddy Is Gone Away 1967 · Single · While Daddy Is Gone Away / B. Bowman Hop · Travel # TRC-5305 · USA

Country, home front perspective, M.I.A.
10 year old boys tells man that his father went to Vietnam.
But telegram arrived, he's missing in action.
Does not mention P.O.W.s

Travel ("The Sound That Travels"), Record No. TRC-5305 (SO: 4152), 45 RPM, time 2:37; (A. K. Wright); Winall Music Co, BMI; Travel Record Co. Credited "Ken Wright and the Palmetto Playboys". [From the record label]

Themes: M.I.A. Child Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#10 Nancy I Promise I'll Wait 1969 · Single · I Promise I'll Wait / Like You Do · Mercede # 2727 · USA

The song "I Promise I'll Wait" (Mercede Records # 2727) sung by Nancy, a young teenager, in which the narrator took the role of a soldier's sweetheart, hoping to see her man again. Nancy also released records under the names Nancy and Her Sixth Street Boogle and Nancy and the Kintwetts, but her surname is unknown. The label based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida apparently took its name from its building: The Mercede Building, 2727 East Oakland Park Boulevard. At the beginning of the song Nancy dedicated it to "all the prisoners of war and their families" - also written on the front cover of the picture sleeve. The label had printed on it "Nancy sings for P.O.W.". The narrator hoped to "meet again" her sweetheart and promised to "wait until then" , and thus this looked at the impact of the war at home (in the US). Word, music, and arrangements by Billi Welles. Produced by John & Dee Mercede. Background vocals by Kin Twetts.

Mercede Records 2727-A, 45 RPM, stereo, white-and-pink label with a photo of the singer; 2430 E. Commercial Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Tel. (305) 771-0757. "I Promise I'll Wait" © (words, music & arr. by Billi Welles), pub. by Power of Music, BMI, 2:08; Billi Welles Outer Realm, Unlimited; background vocals Kin Twetts; produced by John & Dee Mercede. The pink-tinted picture sleeve is headed "Nancy sings for the prisoners of war and their families" and shows the young singer seated on the bonnet of a Mercedes car under trees, with both titles "I Promise I'll Wait" and "Like You Do". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. Child

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Children on Record

#11 Eleanor Shaw A Soldier Dies 1969 · Single · A Soldier Dies / Fountain of Hope · Tin Pan Alley # TPA 35-476 · USA

- "A Soldier Dies"

- Label: Tin Pan Alley # TPA 35-476
- Songwriter: Michael S. Foster

- Searching for my missing boy (M.I.A.)
- We came upon him, as he died, blood soaked clothes from bullet holes in his chest (K.I.A.)
- A job to do, he did it willingly, died to keep us free, a man of liberty (patriotic)
- Honor the man

- Tin Pan Alley Records, Tin Pan Alley, Inc., 1650 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019, TPA 35-476A, light-blue label; "A Soldier Dies" (Michael S. Foster), 2:23, Juke Box Alley (ASCAP); Eleanor Shaw. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: M.I.A. K.I.A. Patriotic Freedom & Liberty Song Poem

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#12 John Canty M.I.A. / P.O.W. (Prisoner Of War Song) 1970 · Single · M.I.A. / P.O.W. / Blow Ye Winds · MGM # K14192 · USA

The song "M.I.A. / P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song)" (MGM Records # K14192) by Captain John R. Canty, of the US air force, who served in Vietnam 1964-1965 - and therefore a military perspective, sometimes referred to as "In Country", although the recording of this single took place in the US. The song centred on the issues of those Missing in Action (M.I.A.) and Prisoners of War (P.O.W.), as stated in the title. Billboard reported on the song on 5 December 1970, displaying a photo, with the caption: "Hugh Downs, left, host of the "Today" show, listens to Capt. John R. Canty, U.S.A.F., as he sign his "M.I.A./P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song)", on the show. The record has just been released in the MGM label".¹

The first part told the story of Captain Richard Hall whose plane had been shot down over North Vietnam. "Rescue pilots search the jungle floor" , but they found nothing, and thus "upon a list his name has got to stay" , as an M..I.A. The narrator then looked at the impact of that on the soldier's wife, who wondered if her husband had been captured or killed in action. It is revealed in a letter postmarked Hanoi, that the soldier "is a prisoner of war" . Then the vocalist narrated a letter from the P.O.W., who said that he hoped to return home soon. Note the reference to the "Hanoi Hilton" - the nickname given to the Hỏa Lò Prison used by North Vietnam for US P.O.W.s²

Notes

Cover:
Pat Boone - M.I.A. / P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song) (1971 / MGM Records # K-14242).³

Show full lyrics (23 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. M.I.A. Military

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#13 Jim Roundtree Prisoner of War 1970 · Single · Prisoner of War / Rainbow of Freedom · Jewel [Cincinnati] # 885 · USA

Prisoner of War (Roundtree, Jim)

Cincinnati, Ohio.
Country, patriotic, P.O.W.
POW letter to sweetheart, prays to see her.
Memories of hanging out.
Fighting to keep America free.
B-side: generic flag-waver, patriotic.

Jewel Records, Box 31078, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231, blue label with silver print, Rec. No. 885; 0336A "Prisoner of War" (J. Roundtree), 2:34, and 0336B "Rainbow of Freedom" (J. Roundtree), 2:37, both BMI. The A-side label is signed in ink by Jim Roundtree with "Thank you W.C.B.E." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#14 Jim Roundtree Rainbow of Freedom 1970 · Single · Prisoner of War / Rainbow of Freedom · Jewel [Cincinnati] # 885 · USA

Annotation: see “Prisoner of War” above (same release).

Themes: Patriotic Flag

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#15 Red River Dave Prisoner of War (What's Happened to the Good Ol' U.S.A.?) 1970 · Single · California Hippie Murders! / Prisoner of War (What's Happened to the Good Ol' U.S.A.?) · USA

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic Anti-Protest

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#16 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas I Should Be Proud 1970 · Single · I Should Be Proud / Love, Guess Who · Gordy # 7098 · USA

The song "I Should Be Proud" (Gordy Records # 7098), written by Henry Cosby, Pam Sawyer and Joe Hinton and recorded by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, is well known as one of the first anti-war songs released by the Motown label - just months before Edwin Starr's "War". Although it must be noted that Motown had released several other political songs related to the Vietnam War prior to this - such as The Valadiers' Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) in 1961, later covered by the The Monitors on the Motown sub-label V.I.P. Records in 1966. And, of course, Motown released the Martin Luther King Jr. speech Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam in 1970 on their sub-label Black Forum Records. Billboard predicted on 28 February 1970 that the song would reach the top 60 of the Billboard Hot 100. The magazine described the song as a "blockbuster rocker with a compelling lyric line that will put her back on the charts in short order - pop and soul. Wild vocal workout". In the end it only reached # 80 (and # 45 on the R&B chart).¹

"I Should Be Proud" featured on the 1970 album Natural Resources (Gordy # HS-1747-2). Martha Reeves took on the song because she lost her brother in Vietnam. She had previously recorded the song Forget Me Not in 1968 about the war, but that dealt with the plight of the soldier, neither pro or anti. So the narrator of this track received a telegram, informing her that "Private John C. Miller was shot down in Vietnam" and was "missing in action somewhere on the Delta line" . Eventually she discovers that he has been killed - noting the number of deaths in Vietnam: "Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54327" . The narrator then said that she could not be proud of his medals. He "wasn't fighting for me" , she cried, but for "the evils of society" . While not explicitly anti-war, the song sought to challenge the idea of the soldier dying for his / her country for an important cause, and thus becoming a hero. Instead, the narrator turned her anger on the government / army for sending the soldier to war in the first place when he could have been at home.

Gordy G 7098, purple-and-yellow label, © 1970, Jobete–BMI, matrix C-K-M5-722M01, 2:55; "I Should Be Proud" (Cosby–Hinton–Sawyer), arranged by Cosby & Riser, produced by H. Cosby. "A trademark of Motown Record Corp. © 1970." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (20 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War Purple Heart Medals M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#17 Various Artists Who Are the Prisoners 1970 · Compilation · Disabled American Veterans # AAVP #27183 / AAVP #27184 · USA

Credited on the record as Various.

Who Are the Prisoners (Various Artists)

Disabled American Veterans - spoken-word, radio broadcast, raising the issue of P.O.W.s / M.I.A.s
Prisoners of war.

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Vet

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordSpeech

#18 Dick Jonas Battle Hymn of the Red River Rats 1971 · Album · FSH Volume II - YGBSM · Goldust # LPS-157 · USA

The second of three album released by Dick Jonas during the Vietnam War era - from Florida, USA, he served in the US Air Force during the war, taking part in 125 missions.¹ While in Vietnam, Jonas wrote songs and played guitar for the US troops there and as part of pacification programs. Some of these recordings were captured in the General Edwin Lansdale Collection of Vietnam War Songs - 6 ten inch tapes of one-hundred-sixty songs by American military personnel in Vietnam - stored at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.²³

This album FSH Volume II - "YGBSM" (Goldust Records # LPS157) was recorded in 1971, shortly after his first album FSH Volume I (Goldust Records # LPS156), recorded in 1969 - a collection of contemporary folk songs, influenced by the US folk revival of the 1960s, as well as including some country music influences.⁴ He also recorded during the Vietnam War years the 1973 album Two Sides of Dick Jonas (Goldust Records # LPS-162). He featured on the 1991 compilation In Country: Folk Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War (Flying Fish Records # # FF 70552), part of the Vietnam Veterans Oral History and Folklore Project.⁵ The song "Battle Hymn of the Red River Rats" , featured on the 1971 album, paid tribute to the US pilots in Vietnam. This included a line about the prisoners of war (P.O.W.s): "look around, there are a few empty chairs...some fight on from a cell" .

Goldust LPS-157 (LPS157 on the sleeve), stereo, 33⅓ RPM; front cover titled "FSH Volume II 'YGBSM'" with an engraved eagle clutching a stars-and-stripes shield against a blue panel and a Liberty Bell device. All selections written by Richard E. Jonas and published by Enchantment Music Company, BMI; each song is credited (Jonas) BMI on the labels. Musicians: Dick Jonas, guitar; Calvin Turbeville, steel guitar and banjo; Vic Gomez, drums; Emmit Brooks, bass; recorded at Emmit Brooks Recording Studio, Mesilla Park, New Mexico, engineer Emmit Brooks; Goldust Records Company, P.O. Box 998, Mesilla Park, New Mexico 88047.

The back carries a photograph captioned "Dick Jonas, Fighter Pilot", showing him in flight suit in front of an F-4 Phantom nose, and a sleeve essay that opens "A fighter pilot is a lot like a little boy" and explains the pilot's motivation through his faith in America, his oath to defend the Constitution, his presidential commission and the code of the American fighting man ("I am prepared to give my life in their defense").

"Sea Island R & R" is marked as a duet by Dick Jonas and his wife, Charlotte.

Side 1: Battle Hymn of the Red River Rats 2:47, Wolf Pack's Houseboy 3:02, Blue Four 2:33, Pine Cones and Oak Leaves 2:00, Normandy's Sand 2:28, Homeward Bound 2:01;
Side 2: Sea Island R & R 1:56, Old Weird Harold 3:10, Uncle's Nephews 2:04, I 'Druther Be an F-4 Jock 1:24, Short-Timing Sailor Boy 2:07, Love Angel 3:33. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Military P.O.W. K.I.A. Ho Chi Minh Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#19 Gene Marshall Remember Me - A P.O.W. 1971 · Single · Divine Exhortation / Remember Me - A P.O.W. · Preview # 1981 · USA

The song "Remember Me - A P.O.W." (Preview Records # 1981) by Gene Marshall - born in San Francisco, CA, he also went by the name Gene Merlino and John Muir. He recorded over 10,000 song-poems for Preview, founded by Clarence Freed, based in Hollywood, CA. These are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recoding companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400).¹² In this traditional pop single, Marshall narrated from the perspective of a P.O.W. who asked not to be forgotten. It contained pro-government elements, as the prisoner said that "only freedom enters my thoughts" , and for freedom "wars are fought" . Composed by Walter D. Watkins.

See other Gene Marshall songs on the artist page.

Preview Records 1981-2, 6311 Yucca, Hollywood; "Remember Me—A P.O.W." (Walter D. Watkins), 2:32, Arthur Music, A.S.C.A.P. Blue label with silver print, spotlight and music-note design. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Song Poem

Genres: ♪ PopTraditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#20 Jim Lea Mystery in Hanoi 1971 · Single · Mystery in Hanoi / Death Valley · RCI # 3003 · USA

The song "Mystery in Hanoi" (RCI Records Inc. # 3003) by Jim Lee, a traditional pop tune that dealt with the P.O.W. issue. As suggested in the title, the song framed the issue of prisoners in North Vietnam as a mystery: "what has happened to all the prisoners" . The narrator wanted to know whether or not they had been killed: "have they found their peace up in heaven...will the prisoners ever return" . Released in 1971 on a Elmsford, New York based song poem company - song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recording companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400). Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War.¹ Produced by Ronnie Carpenter, and lyrics by Henry L. Miller.

RCI Records, 4 William Street, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523; 3003-A, 45 R.P.M.; "Mystery in Hanoi" (Henry L. Miller), Lone Lake Songs, Inc., BMI, time 2:12; producer Ronnie Carpenter. Green label with star. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Song Poem

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#21 Don Holiman & the Sky Pilot Choir Letter to Hanoi 1971 · Single · IPI # 1 · USA

The country music song "Letter to Hanoi" (IPI Records # 1) by Don Holiman & The Sky Pilot Choir dealt with the P.O.W. issue. This record received a minor reference in Billboard magazine on 7 August 1971, in reference to a distribution story: "Pickwick International will release nationwide all products of IPI Records...the first record to be released under the new agreement is Don Holliman's recording of his own composition 'A Letter to Hanoi'."¹ - the article spelt his name "Holliman" in contrast to the single, which went with "Holiman". This may be the country musician who released some singles in Nashville around 1973.² He narrated it from the perspective of a US postman. A boy gave him a letter, which said "Dear Mr. Hanoi...I'll be nine years old in a month...you have my daddy" . He wanted Hanoi to let him have some contact with his father. The song also contained a patriotic element. The boy's mother explained why his father went to war: "he loved his country and knew his duty" . Composed by G. Wells and A. Davis. Produced by Joe Harrelson.

IPI Records IPI 1 (IPI 1 - A), yellow "Promotion Copy – Not for Sale" label with a globe logo, "Distributed by P I P Records • A Division of Pickwick International, Inc."; "Letter to Hanoi" (G. Wells & A. Davis), time 3:00, Beatrix Music & Mourbar Music (ASCAP); producer IPI Productions - Joe Harrelson. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#22 Don Mason Here's Wishing You a Merry Christmas 1971 · Single · Here's Wishing You a Merry Christmas / Shepherd Boy · Scepter # S12372 · USA

The song "Here's Wishing You a Merry Christmas" by Don Mason, a "special release courtesy of Scepter Records for P.O.W.-M.I.A. and their families", as written on the record label. Mason came from Western New York. In 1976 Governor Hugh Carey selected his song "Little People" as New York State's official Bicentennial song.¹ Earlier, in 1960, he released a campaign single for Richard Nixon - We Need Nixon / National Republican Theme. Narrated from the perspective of a P.O.W.'s partner, she had the presents, decorations, and tree ready, and had friends and family around. However, she wished she could spend Christmas with her partner. Composed by Don Mason and Antoni Sperry. Arranged by Ben Lanzaroni. Produced by John Abbott. Engineered by John Casali.

Scepter S12372A, "Special Release Courtesy of Scepter Records for P.O.W.-M.I.A. and their Families"; "Here's Wishing You a Merry Christmas" (music by Don Mason-Antoni Sperry), 3:36, ASCAP; arranged by Ben Lanzaroni; produced by John Abbott; engineer John Casali. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Christmas P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Christmas Songs

#23 Norma Jean Carpenter & Bobby Adams Prisoner Of War 1971 · Single · My Love Guarantee / Prisoner of War · Kingstar # 1001 · USA

The country music song "Prisoner of War" (Kingstar # 1001), performed by Norma Jean Carpenter & Bobby Adams - released in Nashville, Tennessee. Copyright held by Golden Imperial Songs, Hollywood, California. Although no other information is known about these two artists, you can see a picture of them on the record label. In the narration, Norma Jean Carpenter took the perspective of a soldier's wife: "my husband is a prisoner of war in North Vietnam" . She waited many years for news of her husband and started to lose hope of him returning, so she prayed to god for help. Late at night she heard her husband's last word before he went to war, presumably narrated by Bobby Adams: "goodbye sweetheart...I'll be coming home...I'll write to you often" . This song, thus, displayed the impact of the P.O.W. situation on the families back home.

Kingstar Records Inc., Nashville, Tenn., 1001 A, stereo, pink-and-yellow label with a crown-and-star logo and photographs of the two singers ("Artist photo on record label"), printed and made in U.S.A.; "Prisoner of War" (Words and music by Bobby Sharp - Jo Ann Roth), Golden Imperial Songs Corp., ASCAP; © Copyright 1971 Golden Imperial Songs, Hollywood, Calif. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#24 Joey Rivers (Let My People) Get Me Out of Here 1971 · Single · (Let My People) Get Me Out of Here / The P.O.W. · Rotten Rat # R-1005/06 · USA

Another double-sided P.O.W. single, released around 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, in the garage rock genre. Both songs composed by J. Friscia. The a-side song "(Let My People) Get Me Out of Here" (Rotten Rat Records # R-1005/06) featured the sound-effects of gunfire and bomb exploding, as the narrator, a soldier who "fought for my country in Viet country" told the listener that he had been "captured" . He appealed for people to help his family get him out of Vietnam, by putting pressure on the politicians. It also contained a little Cold War atomic weapon imagery: he wanted the military to use any means necessary, "even A-bombs" , in order to secure his release. Note that he released an updated version of this song for the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis, called "(Let My People) Get Me Out of Here" under the artist title Liberty.The second song, "The P.O.W." , narrated in the third person, sought to keep the P.O.W. issue fresh in people's minds, pointing out that "by the morning we forget the P.O.W." . The narrated said that it did not matter about being anti-war or pro-government, hawk or dove, but that people in the US "owe a debt...to our prisoner of war" . Thus, he pleaded in the chorus for the US to bring home the P.O.W.s. The song also contained some personal biography of the fictional prisoner, saying that he had a two year old child that he had never met, and that his parents and "brave, courageous" wife suffered while the soldier remained in prison in Vietnam.

Rotten Rat Records 45-R-1005, D.J. copy, "A GJM Production", Rotten Rat Records, P.O. Box #209, Kensington Sta., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11218; "(Let My People) Get Me Out of Here" (J. Friscia), Ogfile Music Publ. Co., BMI, 3:10. The label shows a rat riding a motor scooter. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Atomic

Genre: ♪ Garage Rock

Also in: ▤ Garage Rock Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years] ▤ Iranian Hostage Crisis Songs

#25 Gene Stridel What Do You Win When You Win a War 1971 · Single · What Do You Win When You Win a War / Pax · Mercede # JM 3002 · USA

Gene Stridel released the anti-war song "What Do You Win When You Win a War" (Mercede Records # JM 3002). He featured in the New York-based 1940s group The Striders (under the name "Eugene Strider").¹ He died in 1973. The label, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida took its name from its building: The Mercede Building, 2727 East Oakland Park Boulevard. The label also released the Vietnam-P.O.W. song I Promise I'll Wait by Nancy. The lyrics presented war as futile and harmful to society, whether a success or not: "you win nothing! The winners lose, for there's nothing to win except death and destruction" . The narrator particularly singled out the negative impact of war on the soldiers and veterans - an early interpretation of their readjustment to civilian life and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ( "the shell shocked...boys who...lost their mind" ), themes usually found in post-war songs. Also note the reference to P.O.W.s: "do you think of the cost? Do our prisoner's of war and all that they've lost?" . Co-composed by Al Jacobs, who wrote the 1940 (Second World War) patriotic folk song "This Is My Country", and Gerry Granahan (who also produced). Arranged by Arnold Goland.

Mercede JM 3002, white label with palm-tree motif, The Mercede Building, Fort Lauderdale, Sunny Florida, U.S.A.; "What Do You Win When You Win a War", written by Al Jacobs, author of "This Is My Country", and Gerry Granahan, author of "Click Clack", 3:35, Mercede Power of Music (ASCAP), © 1971 Doc Whipple Music Corp. (ASCAP); produced by G. Granahan, arranged by Arnold Goland. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War Vet P.O.W. Orphan K.I.A. Medals

Genres: ♪ Easy ListeningLounge

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ PTSD Songs

#26 The Truehart Kids If Your Dad Were a Prisoner of War 1971 · Single · Mallard # MR-4 · USA

The country pop song "If Your Dad Were a Prisoner of War" (Mallard Records Inc. # MR-4), by the The Truehart Kids, looked at the plight of the P.O.W.s and the impact it had on the families of the prisoners. It also leaned to the anti-war side of the debate, concluding with the line "pray for peace" . The main narrator claimed to be a 9 year old girl, who told the listener that her father, captured in the war, "don't have much food to eat, sleeping on the floor" . Meanwhile, her mother spoke a lot about him so that "we won't forget our dad" . The young girl's 4 year old brother "wrote the North Vietnamese" asking for their father's release.

In fact, the actually children narrating this record, Renee (11 years old), and Jeff (10 years old), were the two children of country singer Nelson Truehart, who released the Vietnam / William Calley song "Morning in My Lai" in 1971. At the time of this recording, they lived in Nashville, Tennessee. On 17 July 1971 Billboard ran the headline that "Nelson Truehart Gets P.O.W. Backing". The article went on to report that "Nelson Truehart...has recorded a prisoner-of-war song with the backing of military officials and a women's organisation. Truehart used his two children, Rene, 11, and Jeff, 10, for this session, which he produced independently here at Spar...the session is being featured in a network documentary and got widespread press coverage here. In attendance were some members of the National Women's League of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. According to Truehart these woman, from all over the nation, will distribute the records by hand to disk jockeys, complete with a brochure outlining the prisoner problem. The song was written by Truehart, who reportedly called officials at the Pentagon and got their blessing for the song. 'I did not want to do anything to offend the military,' he said. Instead, they gave it enthusiastic reception".¹² Released on Guy Drake's country, Nashville-based label Mallard Records Inc., he also produced the record. The above article said that Truehart wrote the song, but the actual record credited G. Johnson (either for the lyrics, the composition, or both).

Mallard Records, Inc., P.O. Box 490, 1012-17th Ave. S., Nashville, Tenn., MR-4 (10016), maroon label with a mallard-head logo; "If Your Dad Were a Prisoner of War" (G. Johnson), Big Country Boy Music / Yall Rite Music, ASCAP, 2:25; produced by Guy Drake; marked "Other Side Mono". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Anti-War Child

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Children on Record▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#27 Pat Boone M.I.A. / P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song) 1971 · Single · MGM # K14242 · USA

Credited on the record as Pat Boone and the Mike Curb Congregation.

M.I.A. / P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song) (Boone, Pat)

John Canty cover.

MGM K14242 (71L-2088), yellow "Special Disc Jockey Record" label marked "Not for Sale"; "M.I.A./P.O.W. (Prisoner of War Song)" (Captain John Canty), 3:41, Hastings Music, BMI; Pat Boone and the Mike Curb Congregation, "Prod. & Arr. by Don Costa"; "MGM Records - A Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. - Made in U.S.A." Housed in an MGM Records company sleeve, "The Greatest Name in Entertainment!", with the lion logo. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Home Front Perspective Soldier's Perspective Hanoi K.I.A.

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#28 Mission Possible Bring My Daddy Home for Christmas 1971 · Single · Bring My Daddy Home for Christmas / You're Still Free · Gale # 1014 · USA

Gale A-1014, Side 1 (10394), 45 RPM, Box 122, Midway, Ga.; "Bring My Daddy Home for Christmas" (John Murat), Gale Music, ASCAP, 3:00; produced by Midway Productions. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Christmas P.O.W. Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Christmas Songs

#29 Sid Myers Pawns of War 1971 · Single · Hare # HA-1520 · USA

Folk rock, anti-war / peace, P.O.W., home front perspective.
Raging wars to kill, don't cross that line.
Love your neighbour, respect fellow man.
Why fight in distant lands.
Think about mothers, lonely wives, children left behind.
End this war - bring the prisoner's home

Hare Records HA-1520-A, 45 RPM stereo, white "Promotional Copy" label; "Pawns of War" (S. Myers), 3:27, Hare Music Co., BMI; produced by John Rowe; "Another Hare Release, Andrews, Texas 79714". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Peace P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#30 Little Gary Dee My Daddy Is a Prisoner (Somewhere in Viet Nam) 1972 · Single · Renegade # 5608 · USA

In 1972 Little Gary Dee also released the P.O.W. song "My Daddy Is a Prisoner (Somewhere in Viet Nam)" (Renegade Records # 5608). As noted above this artist also released the single "Mr. Where Is Viet-Nam" (Nu-Fax # 101) with Bob Necaise, credited to "Bob Necaise and 'Lil' Gary D with the Delta Sho-Men", released around the same time. The song described the narrator as "a little boy not yet four years old" according to the lyrics. In that song a man spotted a young child in a playground crying because he missed his father, fighting in Vietnam. He wanted the man to help him visit his father in the war zone, while not really understanding the conflict in Vietnam or even the location of the country. The narration switched between the adult, Bob Necaise, and the child, Little Gary Dee.

This song took an identical format, and mirrored the same story. A man walking through a "sleepy Southern town" saw a little boy whose "eyes were big and sad". The boy explained that his "daddy fights for freedom and keeps things safe for me". However the North Vietnamese "keep them locked up". So the boy took a political position on the objectives of the war, and thereby displayed an understanding of the conflict, not present in the previous version. The boy also explained how the situation affected the family: "my mummy is always crying". This song represented the plight of a P.O.W.'s family, especially on a young child, as well as containing some patriotic / pro-government sentiment. Released in Nashville, Tennessee, on Chuck Chellman's country label - he also produced the record.

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Child Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Children on Record▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#31 Tammie McCarroll Man in Vietnam 1972 · Single · Man in Vietnam / Crazy Indian · Log Cabin # LC3873 · USA

Credited on the record as Tammie McCarroll and the McCarroll Family.

Tammie McCarroll, born 1959, wrote and recorded the Vietnam / P.O.W. song "Man in Vietnam" (Log Cabin Records # LC3873) in 1972, at the age of 11-12, while still in junior high school. She grew up in Lenoir City, Tennessee, and came from a long line of country and bluegrass musicians, in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee. Her father Tom McCarroll played the fiddle, guitar, and banjo, recording several records and playing in the local music scene. Her grandfather, Jimmy McCarroll, a famous fiddler, led the traditional country group Roane County Ramblers, which released six singles in the late 1920s on Columbia Records.¹²³ This song focused on the impact that a US P.O.W. had on the soldier's family back home. The narrator of the song said that she had "been waiting for a man in Vietnam...in a prison" . But she soon revealed that her sweetheart's name appeared on television with the "ones that have been freed" , and so she expected to see her loved one again soon. Released in Ohio, on Rusty York's country label. Produced by Frank White. The label credited the backing band to "The McCarroll Family", which included Tom McCarroll on rhythm guitar and Polly McCarroll on bass.

Log Cabin Records LC3873-1, black and silver label, 45 RPM, "Producer Frank White"; "Man in Vietnam", written and vocal by Tammie McCarroll, credited to Tammie McCarroll and the McCarroll Family; credits: Tammie McCarroll, vocal and rhythm guitar; Tom McCarroll, rhythm; Glenn Presley, steel guitar; Polly McCarroll, bass; Larry Presley, bass guitar. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Child

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Children on Record▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#32 Jerry Silver Dear Mr. Hanoi 1972 · Single · Dear Mr. Hanoi / Bad Mouthing · Lam # 2001 · USA

A slow tempo country track, "Dear Mr. Hanoi" (LAM # 2001), by Jerry Silver, took a similar approach to the P.O.W. issue as the song "Letter to Hanoi" by Don Holiman. Taking the format of a letter written to Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam, the narrator took the role of a boy, asking Hanoi to send his father (a prisoner of war) back home. The song sought to show the negative impact on a P.O.W.'s family - the soldier's child would not be able to "play ball with his own dad" , while his wife "cried, because she's so alone" . The record company placed a full-page advertisement in Billboard on 13 January 1973, just as the US government were negotiating the ceasefire agreement and discussing the P.O.W. issue, and thus a very topical subject.¹ Released in Wilson, North Carolina, USA. Distributed by the General Record Corporation (Atlanta, Georgia). Composed by Bob Keiber. Publisher: Blue Surf Music. Performing Rights: BMI.

Lam, Mega Sound Production Record No. 2001 (L-2001-A), "Promotion Copy"; "Dear Mr. Hanoi" (Bob Keiber), time 3:10, ℗ 1972 Blue Surf Music, BMI; "Dist. by General Record Corp., 123 Simpson St., Atlanta, Ga." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#33 John Denver Prisoners 1972 · Album · Rocky Mountain High · RCA Victor # LSP-4731 · USA

John Denver, born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., in Roswell, New Mexico (31 December 1943), became a hugely successful country pop singer/songwriter in the early 1970s. Throughout his career he sold over 33 million records. He died in Monterey, California (12 October 1997).¹ In 1971 he covered the Vietnam War song "Readjustment Blues" on the album Aerie (RCA Victor # LSP-4607), about a veteran, adjusting from the life of a soldier to civilian society, as well as encountering major cultural and political changes in the US. Originally written by Bill Danoff of the folk rock duo Fat City, on their 1971 album Welcome to Fat City (Paramount Records # PAS 6028). This Denver cover became a more well-known and popular version.

In 1972 he released the prisoner of war (P.O.W.) song "Hard Life, Hard Times (Prisoners)" (RCA Victor # 74-0801). It featured on the album Rocky Mountain High (RCA Victor # LSP-4731), under the track name "Prisoners" . He spoke about it on the Tonight Show on 19 September 1972, a US television show hosted by Johnny Carson.² He said "I wrote it in January. The single is called 'Hard Life, Hard Times' but...on the album it's called 'Prisoners'. It's about prisoners of war".³ The lyrics present two perspectives. Firstly, it looked at those back home, the family of a P.O.W.: "Josie works...to help her pass the time, her mama keeps the baby and grandpa rambles on" . Secondly, the narrator switched to the perspective of the P.O.W.: "I see her face in the stone, I try to imagine our baby, I wish they would let me go home" . Produced by Milt Okun. The song got noted in Billboard on 16 September 1972 for strong radio play, especially in Chicago, Illinois.⁴ On 30 September it bubbled under the Hot 100 at #110.⁵ It peaked at # 103 on 4 November 1972.⁶

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#34 Merle Haggard I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me 1972 · Single · I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me/ I Forget You Everyday · Capitol # 3488 · USA

Credited on the record as Merle Haggard and the Strangers.

Merle Haggard, born in Bakersfield, California, in 1937, especially known as a guitarist, vocalist, and fiddler, developed into one of the most influential artists in the country music genre.¹ In September 1969 he had released the very popular and successful single "Okie From Muskogee" (Capitol Records # 2626) which attacked draft-card burners and the counter-culture, and re-enforced patriotic, conservative views. Shortly after, in January 1970, he followed up with the equally pro-government, flag-waving song "The Fightin' Side of Me" (Capitol # 2719) - both these singles reached # 1 in the Billboard country charts and made it into the Billboard Hot 100. Haggard also referenced the Vietnam War in the 1982 single "Are the Good Times Really Over" (Epic Records # 14-02894), and the song "Me and Crippled Soldiers" on the 1990 album Blue Jungle. During the Vietnam era, he also released the single "Soldier's Last Letter" (1971: Capitol # 3024).

Haggard narrated the country song "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" (Capitol # 3488) from the perspective of a US soldier in a "rotten prison camp in Vietnam" , and thus a P.O.W. song. The prisoner spent every day thinking about his parents, friends, and girlfriend, hoping that they did not forget him. Despite being a P.O.W., the soldier was "still proud to be a part of Uncle Sam" . Thus, also a patriotic track. The single reached # 1 in the Billboard Hot Country singles on 17 February 1973.¹ It featured on the album I Love Dixie Blues (Capitol # ST-11200).

Capitol 3488 (S45-80758), stereo, red label with large gold Capitol logo, ℗ 1972 Capitol Records, Inc.; "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" (Merle Haggard), Blue Book Music–BMI, intro :08, 2:49; Merle Haggard and the Strangers; produced by Fuzzy Owen. Gold-and-red Capitol company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ CountryBakersfield Sound

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#35 Zachary & Alexander Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name) 1972 · Single · Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name) / Lord Help Me · Magic # M-1972-110 · USA

The 1972 Vietnam War song "Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name)" (Magic # M-1972-110) looked at the impact of the war on a US soldier, narrated from the perspective of a P.O.W. Released by Zachary & Alexander in Birmingham, Alabama. Written by Robby Robinson. The soldier described fragments of sounds that he experienced in Vietnam, what he saw, and being shot: "twilight in this tropic land...mortar walking round after round...my shirt turned red, I felt the pain" . The soldier, taken prisoner, wondered if anybody back in the US knew about him, his name, and whether he would be rescued: "I'm the prisoner and the chains are on me...do you know my name" . The lyrics also described the purpose of the war, as seeking to "to set their people free" , which thus followed the US government's position on the war.

Magic M1972110 / M-1972-110 (A), B3KM-6502, maroon label with a rabbit-and-top-hat logo; "Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name)" (Robby Robinson), 3:45, Magic City Music Pub. Co., B.M.I.; Magic City Music, 1213 S. 33rd St., Birmingham, Ala. 35205. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#36 Sandy Bagley POWMIA 1972 · Single · POWMIA / You'll Go Away Hungry Today · Wrayco # WM 219 · USA

Credited on the record as Sandy Bagley and The Wildwood Angels.

The song "POWMIA" (Wrayco Records # WM 219) by Sandy Bagley, the wife of P.O.W. Major Bobby Ray Bagley, captured in North Vietnam on 16 September 1967, and released on 14 March 1973.¹² The back of the 7" single picture sleeve said "Housewife, Sandy Bagley of Sumter, S.C. sings her own true story about her husband, Major Bobby Bagley who has been a prisoner of war for five years and still remains along with many husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers in POW camps half way across the world - Sandy and her daughter, Little Vicky Ann, keep a constant prayer on their lips and faith in their hearts that soon, Major Bobby Bagley and all the prisoners of war and those missing in action will once again be back home with the ones whose love is mightier than the sword".³ Word and music by Cecil Null.

Her local newspaper in South Carolina, The Sumter Daily praised her single, writing that "on Sandy's recent trip to Nashville...she went to this great music center: to try to tell as many Americans as possible about the POW-MIA situation through music...Since her return, she has heard from (and talked with) Johnny Price, who is ready to release his own recording to help her cause, The Ballad of the POW".⁴Johnny Price did release the single "Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s", discussed below. Bagley wrote the b-side of that single, "Santa Bring Daddy for Christmas". Bagley's song also picked up nation coverage in Billboard on 12 August 1972, which reported that "the wife of a prisoner of war in Vietnam has done a country single".⁵

Wrayco Records Inc., 8005 Pulaski Hy., Baltimore, Md. 21237, WM 219 (WM 219-A, PRP-37492), orange label; "Powmia" (Cecil Null), 3:13, Maple Music ASCAP; arranged by Cliff Parman, produced by Cecil Null; Sandy Bagley and The Wildwood Angels.

The picture sleeve front shows two crosses lettered "POWMIA" and "Sandy Bagley and The Wildwood Angels" over silhouetted soldiers, with photographs of Sandy Bagley, her husband and her daughter kneeling in prayer, and the text: "Housewife, Sandy Bagley of Sumter, S.C. sings her own true story about her husband, Major Bobby Bagley who has been a prisoner of war for five years", adding that she and her daughter Little Vickey Ann keep a constant prayer that he and all prisoners of war and those missing in action will be back home.

The back prints the full lyrics (chorus and three verses), "Words and Music by Cecil Null", © 1972 Maple Music, Inc.—ASCAP. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Religion

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#37 Marvin Gaye I Want to Come Home for Christmas 1972 · Archival · Unreleased · Not On Label · USA

As discussed above, Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, which included the Vietnam War songs "What's Happening Brother" and "What's Going On" , he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. Note that Gaye also released the Vietnam-related song Soldier's Plea (1962).

In 1972 Marvin Gaye and Forest Hairston wrote the wonderful song "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" . Originally intended for release as a single on Tamla Records # 54229, backed by the song "Christmas in the City", Motown cancelled it. The song only appeared on a handful of compilations, such as Christmas in the City. It is written from the point of view of a 'prisoner of war' (P.O.W.) - military classification for those held captive in Vietnam, also having the status of 'missing in action' (M.I.A.). The US government currently reports 1,608 people as P.O.W. or M.I.A. in Southeast Asia.¹ This issue grew in importance in the early 1970s as peace negotiations took place between the US and North Vietnam in Paris. The narrator dreamed of Christmas back home: the "little Christmas tree...to see Santa Claus...to hear jingle bells" . The P.O.W. knew that he would not make it home, but if people tried to "stop this fight" his spirits would be lifted, and therefore the song took an anti-war perspective.

Themes: Christmas P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Anti-War

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs ▤ • Vietnam War: Christmas Songs ▤ • Vietnam War: Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#38 GoodThunder P.O.W. 1972 · Album · Goodthunder · Elektra # EKS 75041 · USA

P.O.W. (GoodThunder)

Progressive rock.

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ RockProgressive RockHard Rock

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#39 Horald Griffiths Prisoner of War 1972 · Album · Good Ol' Boy · Atlantic # SD 7215 · USA

Prisoner of War (Griffiths, Horald)

Atlantic SD 7215, stereo; front cover photo of Griffiths in a flat cap and denim shirt with an acoustic guitar on a park bench; yellow "Promotional Copy — Not for Sale" sticker. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Anti-War

Genre: ♪ Singer Songwriter

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#40 Bobby Arvon Forgotten Child, Forgotten Man 1972 · Single · Forgotten Child, Forgotten Man / Radio Man · MGM # K 14416 · USA

Forgotten Child, Forgotten Man (Arvon, Bobby)

Vocal pop, home from perspective, P.O.W. / M.I.A.
Child's father lost in a foreign land.
Bring him home!

MGM K 14416 (72 L 3370), ℗ 1972 MGM Records, Inc.; Special Disc Jockey Record, Not For Sale; Fifth Floor Music, Inc. & Silver House Music Co., ASCAP, 3:22; (B. Arvon–J. Reed); arranged by Artie Butler; produced by Al Kasha; MGM Records, 7165 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood; in an MGM company sleeve. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Child Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#41 Advertising Council Message to Hanoi 1972 · Single · POW/MIA 1972 Radio Campaign · Advertising Council # 1081, POW 201 · USA

POW/MIA Public Service Announcements for the National League of American Prisoners and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia and the American National Red Cross, "1972 Radio Campaign"; #1081, POW 201, side 1, 33⅓ RPM: 1. Message to Hanoi :60; 2. Message to Hanoi :30. Volunteer agency S.S.C. and B. Inc. Advertising; "Advertising Contributed for the Public Good — A Public Service Campaign of The Advertising Council". [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Hanoi

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordSpeech

#42 Pete Oliver My House of Memories 1972 · Single · My House of Memories / Green Green Grass of Home · Stop # ST 1670 · USA

My House of Memories

The song is by Merle Haggard, not VN-related. But this cover version contains a spoken-word introduction, "Hi mum, hi dad, hello darling, I feel so lonely in this prisoner of war camp, and I know the only thing that keeps me going is my memories of you".

Theme: P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Country

#43 Nationales Vietnamkomitee Lied des Gefangenen 1972 · Album · Alles Für Den Sieg Des Kämpfenden Vietnamesischen Volkes! · Nationales Vietnamkomitee # 0001 VK · Germany

Nationales Vietnamkomitee 0001 VK, STEMRA 1972; recorded 17 and 23 November 1972 in the Netherlands, vocals added 18-26 November 1972 in West Berlin; production Konrad Boehmer, sound Udo Primbs; musicians include Willem Breuker, Herman de Wit, Kees Klaver, Willem van Manen, Maarten van Regteren Altena and Rob du Bois, with Misha Mengelberg arranging the final march; singers Peter Fitz, Rüdiger Hacker, Michael König, Jutta Lampe, Christine Oesterlein, Elke Petri, Mario von Scanzoni and Angela Winkler; sold in aid of the Vietnamkomitee (donations to Heinz Breuer, Cologne).

Whole LP issued by the Nationales Vietnamkomitee (West German National Vietnam Committee); self-released, cat 0001-VK. Producer Konrad Boehmer; engineer Udo Primbs. Musicians are largely Dutch improvisers: Willem Breuker (clarinet, sax), Misha Mengelberg (arr. B7), Maarten Altena (double bass), Willem Van Manen (trombone), Rob Du Bois (piano), Herman De Wit, Jim Van Der Valk-Bouman, Bob Zimmerman, Cees Klaver, Jan Bouman, Rudy Van Velzen, Wolf Van Leeuwen.

Vocals/voices: Angela Winkler, Christine Oesterlein, Elke Petri, Jutta Lampe, Mario Von Scanzoni, Michael König, Peter Fitz, Rüdiger Hacker (Berlin Schaubühne actors). Song of the Prisoner, a Vietnamese song by Trần Kiết Tường arranged and translated by Konrad Boehmer for the committee's LP All for the Victory of the Fighting Vietnamese People.

Cover of Vietnamese original – Trần Kiết Tường. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Vietnamese Patriotic Vietnamese Perspective Anti-Imperialism Benefit Record

Genres: ♪ JazzAvant-Garde Jazz

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Jazz Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#44 Jimmy Snyder Our Boys in Viet Nam Are Coming Home 1972 · Single · Our Boys in Viet Nam Are Coming Home / Sunshine of My Day · Charity # CH-4392 · USA

Boys in prison camps are coming home.
Country, patriotic

Charity Records CH-4392, side 1, time 2:40; (Hickey, Snyder, Stegall, Mays); Cliffhouse Songs, BMI; produced by Cliffie Stone for 40 Grand Productions. This copy is inscribed in pen: "To Bucky — a good friend — forty grand worth of luck — Lloyd Hickey, 3/28/73". [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Homecoming Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#45 P.O.W. Plea 1972 · Single · Plea / Wife's Searchin' · Dominion # none · USA

"I could hardly wait to see you"

Dominion Records, Salem, Virginia. [From the Rate Your Music label page]

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

#46 P.O.W. Wife's Searchin' 1972 · Single · Plea / Wife's Searchin' · Dominion # none · USA

Dominion Records, Salem, Virginia. [From the Rate Your Music label page]

Themes: P.O.W. Home Front Perspective

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#47 The Whispers P.O.W - M.I.A. 1973 · Single · P.O.W.-M.I.A. / Does She Care · Janus # J-212 · USA

The smooth soul group The Whispers formed in Watts, Los Angeles in 1964, by the twin brothers Walter and Wallace Scott, along with Nicholas Caldwell, Gordy Harmon, and Marcus Hutson. They released the track "P.O.W.-M.I.A." (Janus Records # J-212), which centred on the issue of those missing in action and prisoners of war, as stated in the title. The narrator of this song felt that "we have to do better...to bring then home...anyway we can" , an attack on the government's lack of progress on the P.O.W. / M.I.A. issue. The narrator thought that people displayed apathy for the issue because it did not involve themselves or somebody that they knew: "give the hero part to some other guy and it really doesn't make much difference if he should live or die" . The lyrics also touched on how a P.O.W.'s family was affected by the situation - the narrator sung about a soldier's wife receiving a short letter from the prisoner, who wanted her to tell his parents that he hoped to be home soon. The narrator declared to publicise the issue as much as possible.

Janus Records J 212 (J 2794-E); "P.O.W. - M.I.A." (Prisoners of War - Missing in Action), credit "(Hillard Street)", Hillard Street Pub. Co. (BMI), time 4:30. Produced by The Whispers & Dick Griffey for GRT Corporation, arranged by Jerry B. Long, ℗ 1973 GRT Corporation. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (24 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#48 The Bitter & the Sweet P.O.W. 1973 · Single · I Won't Have Any Babies for You / P.O.W. · The Anything, Everything # BS 764T10 · USA

The song "P.O.W." (The Anything, Everything Records # BS 764T10) by the obscure soul group, The Bitter & the Sweet, dealt with the prisoner of war issue, which frequently appeared in 1970s songs after the Paris Peace Accords. The narration included a series of patriotic sentiments, such as wanting to "salute the past, present and future service men and woman of this country" for their bravery and fighting for the country. At the end of the song the narrator posed a series of questions about the whereabouts of a soldier, representing the type of questions that families and friends of a P.O.W. would ask. Released in Detroit, Michigan. Floyd Johnson wrote and produced, while the Motown Records guitarist Robert White (former member of the The Funk Brothers) worked on the arrangement. The band members included Adrienne Bolden, Katherine Hamilton, Victor Williams, Kenny Jackson & LeRoi Coleman Jordan. See this advert of the original 7".

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#49 Leo Price I've Been a Prisoner 1973 · Single · The Bullet / I've Been a Prisoner · Faces # 3-1 · USA

The obscure soul artist "Little" Leo Price, born 9 January 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana, co-wrote "Send Me Some Lovin'", a song covered by many soul artists, such as Sam Cooke. His older brother, the R&B singer Lloyd Price had a very successful career.¹²³⁴ It seems that at some point he moved to Houston, Texas - it is referenced on this single, and he recorded some tracks on the Houston based label Palladium (under the artist name "Leo Price and His Band"). The song "I've Been a Prisoner" (Faces Records # 3-1), written by Price and Don Logan (who also produced the record) and released in 1973, took the perspective of a former prisoner of war back in the US: "I used to be a prisoner of war, now the war is over" . The veteran desperately sought to find his sweetheart, offering a $10,000 reward and providing the listener with his telephone and room number at the Holiday Inn, Houston, Texas. He recalled her tears on the day he left for war and said that they were supposed to be married, and so his "mind and heart is in a great pain" .

Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Vet

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#50 Funkadelic March To The Witch's Castle 1973 · Album · Cosmic Slop · Westbound # WB 2022 · USA

The song "March to the Witch's Castle" (Westbound Records # WB 2022) is another important representation of P.O.W.s and veterans after the Paris Peace Accords, looking at their adjustment to the US non-wartime society. The narrator started by noting the date 12 February 1973 as the "happiest day" in thirteen years - the beginning of Operation Homecoming, returning American prisoners of war (P.O.W.s) to the US, held by North Vietnam, and thus answering the "prayers of thousands" . However, the narrator soon turned his attention to "the nightmare of readjustment" . It recalled the veteran's war time struggles, with the lines "death waited in the shadows...his enemies were many" , as well as problems back home, such as the news that "his loved one remarried" while a P.O.W. It also included an early reference to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): "what has happened to his mind" . At the end of the song the narrator criticised the 'peace with honor' claim of President Richard Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, asking how it could be when "thousands of boys gave their life" .

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. Nixon

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkFunk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#51 The Auditions Returning Home From Vietnam 1973 · Single · Returning Home From Vietnam / Get Set, Be Ready · Freckles # A010T · USA

The beautiful soul track "Returning Home From Vietnam" (Freckles Records # A010T) focused on a soldier's excitement about receiving his discharge from the army, as he told the listener: "my fighting days are finally over" . Furthermore, he looked forward to seeing his sweetheart: "I'm marching...home baby, step by step" . The group released the record on the small Chicago label Freckles, associated to the Crowntown Record Corporation, founded by Sidney Foster (convicted of murder a few years later, in 1977). The group appeared on the American television program _Soul Train_ in March 1973, at which the label promoted the single as "a political and social statement in music about the long war in Vietnam and the return of our G.I.s". The band dedicated the song to the returning soldier and the prisoners of war (P.O.W.s).¹ Composed by Lonnie Hampton, M. Cox, & R. Hazelwood. Produced by Lonnie Hampton, Rex Alexander, and Darnell Glover - these three also arranged the song with Sidney Foster and Michael Taylor.

Freckles Records (A010T)-A, ℗ 1973 Crowntown Record Corp., 8125 S. Bishop, Chgo, Ill. 60620; "Returning Home From Vietnam" (L. Hampton–M. Cox–R. Hazelwood), 2:40, Don Lon Music, BMI; produced by Rex Alexander, Lonnie Hampton and Darnell Glover; arranged by Michael Taylor, Lonnie Hampton, Rex Alexander, Darnell Glover and Sidney Foster. Yellow label with red print. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Vet P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#52 Johnny Carver Yellow Ribbon 1973 · Single · Yellow Ribbon / Since My Baby Left Me · ABC # 11357 · USA

A yellow ribbon has been used as a sign of remembrance for those away from home in the military or in prison. In John Ford's 1949 film She Wore a Yellow Ribbon starring John Wayne, a woman wearing a yellow ribbon showed her devotion to her husband, away with the US cavalry. The theme song of the film was based on a military cadence: "around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon...and when I asked her why...she said it's for my lover who is in the cavalry" .¹ The theme developed into a sign of remembrance in the early 1970s for the US P.O.W.s in Vietnam, hostages held in Iran (1979), and later during the Gulf War in the 1990s.²

In January 1973 Tony Orlando & Dawn, a New York pop group, featuring Tony Orlando, Telma Hopkins, and Joyce Vincent Wilson, released the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" (Bell Records # 45,318) about a man released from prison after a three year sentence, just as the US P.O.W.s returned to the US under "Operation Homecoming".³ Orlando said in an interview with Billboard on 19 May 1973: "we were really surprised by the depth of feelings 'Yellow Ribbon' aroused...everywhere we tour, people come up and tell us how the song touched them. At the time of its release all the Vietnam POWs were coming home and people read that situation into the lyrics...it become a song for America's returning war prisoners, overcoming records hooked far more directly to this theme".⁴ Hopkins viewed the song, and its success, in a similar way in a 1988 interview in Jet: "the song was written about a man who was in prison...the story was if you still want me, tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. And I'll know to get off the bus...But it came out during the time the POWs were being sent home and people started tying yellow ribbons around their trees...it's more about them than it is about anything else".⁵ This single reached # 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 on 21 April 1973 and stayed there for 4 weeks. It sold over 900,000 copies by December 1973.⁶⁷ Johnny Carver, a country pop singer from Jackson, Mississippi, released a cover song, titled "Yellow Ribbon" (ABC Records # ABC-11357), which reached # 8 in the Billboard Hot Country singles on 2 June 1973.⁸ These two singles are the most successful of the records released associated with Vietnam P.O.W.s.

Black ABC Records label (building-blocks logo) ABC-11357 (45-16403); "Yellow Ribbon" (I. Levine/L. R. Brown), time 2:57, Warner-Tamerlane Pub. Corp. (BMI); produced by Ron Chancey; ℗ 1973 ABC Records, Inc. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#53 Bob Glover The Story of Vietnam 1973 · Single · The Story of Vietnam · Twin # NR2984 · USA

The country song "The Story of Vietnam" (Twin Record Productions # NR2984) by Bob Glover looked at the P.O.W. issue. The narrator started by referring to the Paris peace agreement signed on 27 January 1973, when "the Vietnam War had ended and the prisoners were sent free" , to the joy of the nation. Glover especially praised Richard Nixon for his role in "signing the peace" agreement. It did contain some patriotic elements: "they fought for their country and for what it stood" . However, he highlighted the heavy cost to some of the soldiers returning: "they'll be wounded, they'll be crippled and some will be blind" . Meanwhile, others did not return. Written by Bob Glover. Produced by Arthur Fort Sr and Bill Stith. Released on Twin Record Productions, in Atlanta, Georgia, a sub-label of GWS (based in Miami, Florida).

Themes: P.O.W. Nixon Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#54 Billy Bailey Return From Viet Nam 1973 · Single · Return From Viet Nam / Someone to Love · CMC # 1014 · USA

Credited on the record as Billy Bailey and the Country Drifters.

The song "Return From Viet Nam" (CMC # 1014) by Billy Bailey, a country track released in 1973 in West Memphis, Arkansas, told the story of a Vietnam veteran. The lyrics are slightly ambiguous. It started with the veteran falling out with his loved one. But why? The narrator sung "I'm sure you got lonely like myself" but "I never dreamed that anything could come between us" - did she become involved with someone else? But then the veteran expressed disappointment with the "fighting in the streets at home" - presumably a reference to protesters. So, did the couple in fact fall out over the protest movement? Also note that the song started with a reference to P.O.W.'s: "I'd have rather died a prisoner in Vietnam" - was the narrator a P.O.W., released from Vietnam? He ended with the line that it would have been better for his sweetheart to have "go on thinking that I was dead" (presumably because he was M.I.A. / P.O.W.).

CMC-1014 (CM-1026), dated "June, 1973" on the label, stereo; "Return From Viet Nam" (Billy Bailey), 2:11, Jamdan Pub., BMI; credited to Billy Bailey and the Country Drifters; producer: CMC Enterprises. White label with blue print. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Patriotic P.O.W. M.I.A. Demonstration Anti-Protest

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#55 Russ Jeffers P.O.W. Letter 1973 · EP · Smokey Mountain Love Affair · Lee Ann # L-1001 · USA

The country song "P.O.W. Letter" (Lee Ann Records # L-1001) by Russ Jeffers, who often performed with his wife, under the title Russ and Becky Jeffers. In fact, her vocals are featured on this record, but it is not credited on the label. They performed over 15,000 shows from 1974-1997 at Opryland USA, a Nashville theme park.¹ Originally, they both came from Clinton, Tennessee. After he left the United States Air Force in 1971, they moved to Nashville.² In the first part, Russ Jeffers narrated from the position of a soldier who had "just returned today from a Vietnam cell" , writing to his girlfriend (from before his plane went down in 1965). He looked forward to being back in his girlfriend's arms. Then Becky Jeffers took over the narration, which brought with it the punch-line. Unfortunately, she had "lost track" of him. She did not have "time to read" his letter, because "today's my wedding day" .

Lee Ann Records L-1001B, stereo, 45 RPM; side B carries two tracks: 1. "Memphis" (Chuck Berry), ARC Music, BMI, 2:31, and 2. "P.O.W. Letter" (Russ Jeffers), LeeAnn Pub., BMI, 2:27. This copy is signed in ink by Russ Jeffers. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

#56 Billy Holeman Prisoner of War (Welcome Back Home) 1973 · Single · Prisoner of War (Welcome Back Home) / They Want to Know · P.O.W.-M.I.A. # SCM-594 · USA

The track "Prisoner of War (Welcome Back Home)" - released in 1973 on a one-off record label called P.O.W. M.I.A. (# 594) by the country musician Billy Holeman. The first collection of verses focused on the soldier as he sat on an airplane, heading home. On landing, a "band plays a special song" , while he greeted his wife, his parents, and the child that he had never met. This song captured the return of the P.O.W.s under the 1973 Operation Homecoming. String arrangement by Dave Barry. Produced and arranged by Glenn Barber.

P.O.W. M.I.A. Records SCM-594, light blue label with the POW/MIA silhouette, watchtower and barbed-wire emblem; "Prisoner of War (Welcome Back Home)" (Glenn Barber, Sr.), 3:12, Acuff Rose Pub. Co., BMI; string arrangement by Dave Barry, arranged and produced by Glenn Barber, Sr. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ CountryCountrypolitan

#57 Eldon Fault Welcome Home POW 1973 · Single · Welcome Home POW / Living in the Lap of Luxury · Glenn [Palmdale] # 4036 · USA

The song "Welcome Home POW" (Glenn Records # 4036) performed by Eldon Fault, a Nashville based singer-songwriter, dealt with the P.O.W. issue. Members of Nashville West, a Californian country rock band (1967-68), backed Fault on this record. The personnel featured Gib Guilbeau (rhythm guitar, harmony vocals, producer), Gene Parsons (drums, harmony vocals) (member of the The Flying Burrito Bros and The Byrds), Wayne Moore (bass, harmony vocals), Clarence White (lead guitar, harmony vocals), and Darrell Cotton.¹²³ Glen MacArthur also produced (he founded the label, named after him). Recorded in Palmdale, California. Composed by George Woodward. Largely narrated from the perspective of a US soldier, "a prisoner so long in Vietnam" , on his way home. Sitting on the train, he hoped that his former sweetheart Mary-Anne would be waiting for him at the station.

Glenn 4036-1 (GS-1-4036), stereo, purple label, Glenn Records, Box 82, Palmdale, California; "Welcome Home POW" (George Woodward), 2:25, MacArthur Music, BMI; produced by Gib Guilbeau and Glen MacArthur (S. Nashville Sound). [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ CountryBakersfield Sound

#58 Leon Rausch Hanoi Jane 1973 · Single · Hanoi Jane / No Justice Here Today · Derrick # DRC-100 · USA

Leon Rausch - a country singer, born on 2 October 1927 in Springfield, Missouri. Early in his career he performed with the Western Swing group Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (from 1958 into around 1965-66), as lead singer.¹ In 1973 he released the Vietnam War song "Hanoi Jane" (Derrick # DRC-100) in Dallas, Texas, written by Bill Rogers. The song title referenced Jane Fonda, a famous actress and political activist who visited North Vietnam in 1972, and met with American P.O.W.s. She released a documentary in 1974 with her husband Tom Hayden (referenced in this song), called Introduction to the Enemy, which depicted their travels through North and South Vietnam. Hayden, a political activist, one of the founding members Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), played a major role in the protests outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1968. He and several others were arrested for inciting riots, and they became known as the "Chicago Seven".

While in Vietnam Fonda posed in a photograph with North Vietnamese soldiers and an anti-aircraft cannon. She urged US soldiers to stop bombing North Vietnam and accused them of being war criminals. As mentioned above, she visited a select group American P.O.W.s, while also delivering 200 letters from P.O.W. families. These P.O.W.s apparently 'volunteered' to meet Fonda for a photo shoot, and many had turned against the war. When the P.O.W.s returned to the US in 1973, the government paraded a selected group of hardliners who supported the president and the war. Those that had met with Fonda were accused of being traitors and threatened with court-martial. One of them, David Wesley Hoffman, claimed that he had been "hung from a hook by his broken arm until he agreed to meet" with Fonda. On 31 March 1973, the Associate Press quoted Fonda as saying that "POWs who reported that they were tortured are hypocrites and liars". Because of these activities, Fonda became known as 'Hanoi Jane'.²³⁴

The narrator of the song strongly criticised Fonda, and wanted her to "just leave America" . Then directly speaking to Fonda, the narrator said: "button up your big mouth and leave our P.O.W.'s alone" . The lyrics also mentioned a "Radical Ramsey" - a reference to the former Attorney General Ramsey Clark (under President Johnson, 1967-1969), who also visited Hanoi during the conflict. As Attorney General, he had oversaw the the prosecution of the Boston Five for aiding draft resistance, including pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and Yale chaplain William Sloane Coffin. He later turned against the war.

Derrick Records Corp. 45-DRC-100-A; "Hanoi Jane" (Bill Rogers), 2:45, Smackover (BMI); by Leon Rausch; label shows an oil derrick. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Jane Fonda Love It or Leave It

Genres: ♪ CountryWestern Swing

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#59 Lance Lindsay Wake Up America! 1973 · Single · Wake Up America! / How Do You Tell a Small Boy · Voices in Vital America # P.O.W. 1873 · USA

Credited on the record as Lance Lindsay and the Glendale College Choir.

A double-sided Vietnam single, written and sung by Lance Lindsay. Bruce Miller arranged both sides. Released by Voices in Vital America (VIVA) - a not-for-profit student organisation formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by Carol Oates, under the name Victory in Vietnam Association, this group sought to counter campus radicalism while promoting concern for US soldiers missing in action and prisoners of war. They famously distributed metal bracelets, with details of those M.I.A. or P.O.W., selling over 5 million. The group disbanded in 1976.¹ Many of its records are held at the Vietnam Center and Archive, at Texas Tech.²

The back of the picture sleeve said that "over 1800 men are prisoners of war or missing in action. A picture of Lt. Ron Dodge (front cover) being escorted by North Vietnamese soldiers appeared in 'Paris March' magazine on Sept. 9 1967. Despite this evidence, Lt. Dodge is among the many men that Hanoi refuses to discuss or admit are prisoners...the solution to this tragic war must include neutral international inspection and identification of all prisoners of war in Southeast Asia. Only the strength of an outraged public can force Hanoi to disclose the fate of these men". The sleeve also said that all proceeds for this record went to VIVA to supports their projects. The Vietnamese returned the remains of Lt. Ron Dodge to the US in 1981.³ In the first song "Wake Up America!" (Voice in Vital America # 1873), the narrator described the soldier in prison: "in a cell waits a man" . Meanwhile his wife "prays alone each night" , hoping for his safe return, thus showing the impact the P.O.W. situation had on families back home. Finally, the narrator called on the listener to help raise awareness of the P.O.W.s, making a list of all those missing in Vietnam, in order to help secure their release. Note the reference to the P.O.W.s from the Korean War.

Voices in Vital America P.O.W. 1873, pale blue label with red print, ℗ 1973 Voices in Vital America; A-side "Wake Up America" by Lance Lindsay and the Glendale College Choir, 2:30; B-side "How Do You Tell a Small Boy" by Lance Lindsay, 3:32; both sides words and music by Lance Lindsay and arranged by Bruce Miller. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Picture sleeve: the front, headed "Wake Up America! and How Do You Tell A Small Boy? Words and Music by Lance Lindsey" (spelled Lindsey on the front, Lindsay on the back and the label), shows Lt. Ron Dodge being escorted by North Vietnamese soldiers. The back reads: "Over 1800 men are prisoners of war or missing in action. A picture of Lt. Ron Dodge (front cover) being escorted by North Vietnamese soldiers appeared in "Paris Match" magazine on Sept. 9, 1967. Despite this evidence, Lt. Dodge is among the many men that Hanoi refuses to discuss or admit are prisoners", adds that 389 Americans known to be prisoners were never accounted for in the Korean War, and ends "Only the strength of an outraged public can force Hanoi to disclose the fate of these men." A sticker on the back adds: "Although this cover was printed before the Peace Treaty, Lt. Dodge and many others, of whom there is proof of capture, have still not been identified. They need your help NOW more than ever." All proceeds donated by Lance Lindsay to Voices In Vital America (VIVA), 10966 Le Conte, L.A. 90024, (213) 473-2901; ℗ 1973 Voices In Vital America. [From the picture sleeve]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Korea M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#60 Lance Lindsay How Do You Tell a Small Boy 1973 · Single · Wake Up America! / How Do You Tell a Small Boy · Voices in Vital America # P.O.W. 1873 · USA

The second song "How Do You Tell a Small Boy" , narrated from the perspective of a P.O.W., looked at the impact of a missing father on a child. The P.O.W. wondered how to explain to his son that he "had to go to war" , and that he spent most of his "time on a prison floor" . The P.O.W. missed many of his son's life events: receiving his first bike, going to school, meeting his friend, playing in the snow. The father concluded that while he could not make up the time, and that his son paid the cost, he intended to stay home.

Voices in Vital America P.O.W. 1873, pale blue label with red print, ℗ 1973 Voices in Vital America; A-side "Wake Up America" by Lance Lindsay and the Glendale College Choir, 2:30; B-side "How Do You Tell a Small Boy" by Lance Lindsay, 3:32; both sides words and music by Lance Lindsay and arranged by Bruce Miller. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Picture sleeve: the front, headed "Wake Up America! and How Do You Tell A Small Boy? Words and Music by Lance Lindsey" (spelled Lindsey on the front, Lindsay on the back and the label), shows Lt. Ron Dodge being escorted by North Vietnamese soldiers. The back reads: "Over 1800 men are prisoners of war or missing in action. A picture of Lt. Ron Dodge (front cover) being escorted by North Vietnamese soldiers appeared in "Paris Match" magazine on Sept. 9, 1967. Despite this evidence, Lt. Dodge is among the many men that Hanoi refuses to discuss or admit are prisoners", adds that 389 Americans known to be prisoners were never accounted for in the Korean War, and ends "Only the strength of an outraged public can force Hanoi to disclose the fate of these men." A sticker on the back adds: "Although this cover was printed before the Peace Treaty, Lt. Dodge and many others, of whom there is proof of capture, have still not been identified. They need your help NOW more than ever." All proceeds donated by Lance Lindsay to Voices In Vital America (VIVA), 10966 Le Conte, L.A. 90024, (213) 473-2901; ℗ 1973 Voices In Vital America. [From the picture sleeve]

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

#61 Hope Parker P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A. 1973 · Single · P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A. / Self · Mainstream # MRL 5537 · USA

Mainstream Records MRL 5537 (master no. MRL 5537 A-S), stereo, 45 RPM, vocal, "A Red Lion Production"; "P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A." (Hope Parker), time 2:40, Valel Music/Lifestyle Music, BMI, ℗ 1973 Mainstream Records; produced by Scheck-Hemphill, Sound of B'ham. A Product of Mainstream Records, Inc., 1700 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#62 Bobby Wyld P.O.W. (When Daddy Comes Marching Home) 1973 · Single · Oweman # OM-2017 · USA

P.O.W. (When Daddy Comes Marching Home) (Wyld, Bobby)

Nashville, Tennessee. Country music.
Starts with chorus singing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" .
Then turns to the return of the P.O.W.'s from Vietnam.
Mainly plight of the soldier and families.
Contains minor patriotic reference.

Owe Man Records OM-2017, stereo (SO12522), Suite 218, 806 16th Ave. So., Nashville, Tenn. 37203; "P.O.W. (When Daddy Comes Marching Home)" (Bobby Wyld - Rick Carter), time 2:08, Kimchelle & Biloxi Music, BMI; produced by Ron Manning. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#63 Me and Bob MIA (Missing in Action in Southeast Asia) 1973 · Single · MIA (Missing in Action in Southeast Asia) / Nature's Dream · Jaycees # JC-100 · USA

MIA (Missing in Action in Southeast Asia)

Folk rock, P.O.W. / M.I.A. song. 1973. Michigan, USA.
War is over, but the narrator is a prisoner. Please pray for me.
Just a young man who went to war - girl still waiting for him.
Wear a silver bracelet for the 1300 men unaccounted for.

Orange label headed "The Walled Lake Area Jaycees" with the United States Jaycees member shield; JC-100-A, side 1; "MIA (Missing in Action in Southeast Asia)" (Sandy Osborn) by Me and Bob, 3:20, published by Old Orchard, ASCAP; arranged by George Fidler & Bob Cloutier; recorded at DXM; ℗ 1973 S. Osborn. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Soldier's Perspective Religion

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

#64 Norris the Troubadour Seaboard Coastliners I'Am Back From Vietnam (Hold the Elevator My Baby Is Coming Down) 1973 · Single · I'Am Back From Vietnam / Mr. Guitar Man I Know You Can · Mayhams # 765-65-8 · USA

Song-poem.
Reference to P.O.W.

Mayhams Collegiate Records 765-65-8, yellow label with drawings of a graduate in mortarboard on each side; "I'Am Back From Vietnam" (Hold the Elevator My Baby Is Coming Down) (Norris), time 2:05, Sorority Fraternity, ASCAP; Norris the Troubadour Seaboard Coastliners. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Vet P.O.W. Song Poem

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ Song Poems

#65 David L. Cash We Are Glad That Our Boys Are Coming Home 1973 · Single · We Are Glad That Our Boys Are Coming Home / Let Me Love You One More Time (And Be a Fool Again) · Stargo # SG-13 · USA

We Are Glad That Our Boys Are Coming Home (Cash, David L.)

Country. Fort Worth, Texas.
Paid tribute to the soldiers returning home.
Patriotic. Also welcomed peace.
Referenced the P.O.W.s, atomic war, religion.

Stargo Records # SG-13

Stargo Records SG-13-A (LH-9843), red label, 3712 N. E. 28th, Ft. Worth, Tex. 76111; "We Are Glad That Our Boys Are Coming Home" (Jim F. Castleman), 3:04, DeFrance Pub. Co., BMI; produced and engineered by C. E. DeFrance. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Atomic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#66 Barry Sadler This Is the Last Song of War 1973 · Single · This Is the Last Song of War / O'God I Can Make It · Veteran # NR3131 · USA

This Is the Last Song of War (Sadler, Barry)

Fanfare, P.O.W. Military perspective.
A-side: they say that the war is over - no glory, no victory.
Glad it's over - I buried 18 friends.
I'm in a filthy prison camp, but returning home
B-side: back in the world

Veteran Records, green label; "This Is The Last Song Of War" (writer Barry Sadler), NR3131-1, 3:38, and "O'God I Can Make It" (writer Barry Sadler), NR3131-2, 2:41, both ASCAP; produced by Bob Barkwill & Luke Brandon. The plain sleeve is printed: "9 million records – Remember Sgt. Barry Sadler? Composer and singer of the 'Ballad of the Green Beret' – The war is over in Vietnam – Barry is back with his new release, 'This Is the Last Song of War' – Try the flip side for what he wants to do now", with the contact Robert Barkwill, 2407-12th Ave. So., Nashville, Tenn. 37204. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Military Vet Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Fanfare

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#67 Woody Potts and The Country Gentlemen Ten Thousand Miles 1973 · Single · Ten Thousand Miles / Bucharest Cannonball · Filicon # F/W 10965 · USA

Credited on the record as Woody Potts And The Country Gentlemen.

Ten Thousand Miles (Potts, Woody)

Country, soldier's perspective, P.O.W.
Broomall, Pennsylvania, USA
I wish I was a bird to fly away 10,000 miles
B-side dedicated to all P.O.W.s (WW2 song?)

Filicon Records Inc., Broomall, Pa., F/W 10965A, stereo; "Original song from Of Lice and Men"; "Dedicated to the fathers and would-be fathers that did not survive from any war"; © 1973 (William J. Fili); Nardello Music Publishing Co., BMI. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#68 Dawn & Tony Orlando Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree 1973 · Single · Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree / I Can't Believe How Much I Love You · Bell # 45,318 · USA

Credited on the record as Dawn featuring Tony Orlando.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (Dawn)

P.O.W.
Popular country hit with Johnny Carver as well

Bell 45,318 (1592); "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" (Irwin Levine-L. Russell Brown), 3:19, Levine & Brown Music, Inc. (BMI), "From the LP 'Tuneweaving' Bell 1112"; arranged by Frank Hunter, rhythm concept Frank Owens; produced by Hank Medress, Dave Appell & The Tokens; ℗ 1973 Bell Records, a division of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., N.Y.C. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs

#69 George Riddles The Man 1973 · Single · The Man / Sweet Doll · True Tone # TTR CW1 · USA

Man, The (Riddles, George)

Bakersfield sound, country music.
Pro-Nixon, patriotic, P.O.W.-related, references amnesty.
Nixon wants to save the country - stop this Watergate scandal.
He helped to end the war in Vietnam, brought back the P.O.W.s
Great and humble man, our prayers will help him.
No amnesty for draft dodgers, those who left in protest against Vietnam

True Tone Records TTR CW1; described on Discogs as a "Richard Nixon support record".

Label: stereo, TTR CW1 A, time 2:32, (NR3701-1); written by John Henson; True Tone Publishing Co.; ℗ 1973 True Tone Records. [From the record label]

Themes: Nixon P.O.W. Amnesty Draft Dodger Watergate Patriotic

Genres: ♪ CountryBakersfield Sound

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#70 Leroy Stutz Capt. Leroy Stutz, ex-POW, Speaks About Broadcasting 1973 · Single · Radio Free USA · National Association of Broadcasters · USA

Credited on the record as Capt. Leroy Stutz.

Ex-P.O.W. supports National Association of Broadcasting
Radio available in communist countries.
North Vietnam state / army radio only

"Radio Free USA" promotional announcements from the Radio Information Office, Public Relations Service, National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.; side B, 33-1/3 RPM: 6. Capt. Leroy Stutz, ex-POW, Speaks About Broadcasting 3:00; 7. Get It On The Radio :30; 8. Radio Has It All Over :30; 9. Same Language :30. "Not to be broadcast after November 30, 1973." NAB picture sleeve ("Radio Free U.S.A. Announcements"). [From the record sleeve and label]

Themes: P.O.W. Vet

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordSpeech

#71 Lonnie Hull Prisoners of War 1973 · Single · Prisoners of War / Ridin' Around in My VW · Trinity Sound Corporation # TS45-1002 · USA

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#72 Bill Sise P.O.W. Release 1973 · Single · Devil Witch / P.O.W. Release · Twin # NR3081 · USA

P.O.W.
Country - Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Themes: P.O.W. Homecoming

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#73 Harold Lowery Seven Lonely Years 1973 · Single · Seven Lonely Years / Honey I Really Love You · Artist World # AW 102 · USA

- post-war 1973 P.O.W., draft, country
- soldier's perspective
- 1965 they sent me to Vietnam (drafted)
- But been here 7 years in prison
- Returned to the US - parents, wife, and job all gone

- Artist World AW 102, pressed by Atwell Record Pressing (ARP 2155/2156).

Label: stereo, side A, ARP 2155; written by Woody Hueston; Lee Wayne Music, BMI; time 2:45; produced by Bobby Helm. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Draft Soldier's Perspective Mistreatment of Vet

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#74 We the People Forgotten Man (Sweetstick's Theme from Sweet Jesus Preacher Man) 1973 · Single · Forgotten Man (Sweetstick's Theme from Sweet Jesus Preacher Man) / Left in the Lost & Found · Lion # LION 148 · USA

Label note under title: "Sweetstick's Theme from the Motion Picture 'Sweet Jesus Preacher Man'". Written, produced and directed by Landy McNeal; arranged by Johnny Pate; associate co-producer Pat Jaques. Publishers Lan-Tastic Music Co., Lion Tracks Music; BMI. Manufactured by MGM Records, Inc. Styrene pressing. Justin owns a copy (Lion 148, bought Dec 2024).

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Vet

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoulFunk

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#75 Holly Near Birthday Children 1973 · Album · Hang in There · Redwood # RRS 3800 · USA

Holly Near, prominent 60s/70s political contemporary folksinger / singer-songwriter, born 6 June 1949 in Ukiah, California, USA, and founder of the record label Redwood Records. Near released dozens of protest songs, focusing on war, Civil Rights, women's equality, human rights, ecology, and other social and cultural issues. This album, Hang in There primarily focused on the Vietnam War. Holly Near had frequently taken part in anti-war demonstrations, and in 1971 joined the FTA Tour ("Free the Army"), an anti-Vietnam War roadshow. Organised by Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and Fred Gardner, it was seen as a response to Bob Hope's USO tour (On the Road to Vietnam). The footage resulted in the 1972 film F.T.A. [Fuck the Army], as well as featuring in the 2005 documentary Sir! No Sir!¹²³ Also note that Near released the song "It Could Have Been Me" on the 1974 album "A Live Album" (Redwood Records # 3700), a response to the Kent State shooting. The song "No More Genocide" (Redwood Records # RRS 3800) took a strong anti-war position, questioning the death in Vietnam, and the purpose behind the war: "why do we say North and South?" . The narrator argued that "our history books so full of lies" - referencing Indigenous American and Hispanic history: "why the Indian dies, or why the Chicanos love the California land" . The song included a reference to Civil Rights / African-American discrimination in army recruitment: "why are so many of our soldiers black or brown?" . It also noted that it was the young that were sent to war by the old. It then addressed Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, recalling "two men from the world of secrecy" (of course Ellsberg, and his less famous colleague, Anthony Russo from RAND who helped smuggled the papers). The narrator noted "I read the Pentagon Papers, seeking truth in their history" , including a look at the US government objective in South Vietnam: "preserving a democracy" . The chorus, repeated at the end of the song, states "that's just a lie... no more genocide in my name" .

Themes: Anti-War P.O.W. LGBTQ+

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Ellsberg & Pentagon Papers Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#76 Holly Near Oh America 1973 · Album · Hang in There · Redwood # RRS 3800 · USA

Holly Near, prominent 60s/70s political contemporary folksinger / singer-songwriter, born 6 June 1949 in Ukiah, California, USA, and founder of the record label Redwood Records. Near released dozens of protest songs, focusing on war, Civil Rights, women's equality, human rights, ecology, and other social and cultural issues. This album, Hang in There primarily focused on the Vietnam War. Holly Near had frequently taken part in anti-war demonstrations, and in 1971 joined the FTA Tour ("Free the Army"), an anti-Vietnam War roadshow. Organised by Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and Fred Gardner, it was seen as a response to Bob Hope's USO tour (On the Road to Vietnam). The footage resulted in the 1972 film F.T.A. [Fuck the Army], as well as featuring in the 2005 documentary Sir! No Sir!¹²³ Also note that Near released the song "It Could Have Been Me" on the 1974 album "A Live Album" (Redwood Records # 3700), a response to the Kent State shooting. The song "No More Genocide" (Redwood Records # RRS 3800) took a strong anti-war position, questioning the death in Vietnam, and the purpose behind the war: "why do we say North and South?" . The narrator argued that "our history books so full of lies" - referencing Indigenous American and Hispanic history: "why the Indian dies, or why the Chicanos love the California land" . The song included a reference to Civil Rights / African-American discrimination in army recruitment: "why are so many of our soldiers black or brown?" . It also noted that it was the young that were sent to war by the old. It then addressed Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, recalling "two men from the world of secrecy" (of course Ellsberg, and his less famous colleague, Anthony Russo from RAND who helped smuggled the papers). The narrator noted "I read the Pentagon Papers, seeking truth in their history" , including a look at the US government objective in South Vietnam: "preserving a democracy" . The chorus, repeated at the end of the song, states "that's just a lie... no more genocide in my name" .

Themes: Anti-War P.O.W. Jane Fonda Tom Hayden Wallace Counter-Culture & Hippies

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Ellsberg & Pentagon Papers Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#77 Johnny B. Denton Tribute to the Disabled Veteran 1973 · Single · Tribute to the Disabled Veteran / A Living Part of You · Dogwood # D-1024 · USA

Tribute to the Disabled Veteran (Denton, Johnny B.)

Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Country. 1973, after the Paris Peace Accords.
Impact of the war on the veteran - physically, mentally, and their treatment by society.
References World War I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Also mentioned M.I.A.s (and implies P.O.W.s).
Criticism of Nixon's "Peace with Honor".

Dogwood D-1024 A, stereo, pink D.J. copy; "Tribute to the Disabled Veteran" (Fred H. Tunnell), Bobby Ray Music Co., BMI, time 2:45; arranged by Fred H. Tunnell, produced by John Taylor, ℗ 1973; distributed by Dogwood Records, 4213 Chapman Hy. W., Knoxville, Tenn.

The picture sleeve front shows a photograph of Johnny B. Denton, the Disabled American Veterans emblem and three flags flying (the US flag in the centre), with "A-Side Tribute to the Disabled Veteran, B-Side A Living Part of You".

The back carries a writer profile of Fred H. Tunnell (born and reared in Nashville, North Carolina; served in World War II in the ETO from D-Day at Omaha Beach to the Rhineland; Purple Heart with cluster and Silver Star; the song "motivated by his deep patriotic feelings to express to the American people the feelings of most DAV's"; lifetime member of the DAV) and an artist profile of Johnny B. Denton.

It ends with a DAV endorsement thanking dee-jays and distributors for air play, booking addresses for Tennessee Valley Talent Agency, Knoxville, and Fred H. Tunnell, McKenney, Va., and publishers Bobby Ray Music Co., BMI (A-side) and Bobby Stancil Publishing Co., BMI (B-side). [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic WW1 WW2 Korea Mistreatment of Vet Disabled Vet

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#78 Joan Baez Where Are You Now My Son? 1973 · Album · Where Are You Now, My Son? · A&M # SP-4390 · USA

In 1972 Baez traveled to North Vietnam during Nixon's controversial "Christmas Bombings" on Hanoi and Haiphong (official named Operation Linebacker II).¹ Baez produced this protest album about that trip, released in 1973. She was also involved in other forms of protest, such as Martin Luther King's March on Washington in 1963 and the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam on 15 October 1969; the Draft Resistance, an organisation run by her then husband David Harris. Moreover, from 1964, Baez refused to pay 60% of her taxes, which she claimed went towards armaments, and the Vietnam War.². The country singer Bill Anderson attacked Baez for this in the song "Where Have All Our Heroes Gone". Also see the Baez song "Saigon Bride" released in 1967.

The title track "Where Are You Now, My Son?" (A&M Records # SP-4390) included a poignant reference to the Christmas holiday. Firstly, Baez recalled the soldiers "sheepishly" asking her on Christmas eve to sing an old folk song. Then the group - the French, the Poles, the Indians, the Cubans, the Vietnamese, and the Americans - turned to the "familiar psalms" of Christmas, but the singing "was shattered by the bombs" , reminding then that they were in the middle of a war zone.&

Themes: Anti-War Christmas Soldier's Perspective Christmas Bombings Vietnamese Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary FolkField Recordings

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#79 Various Artists Missing in Action 1973 · Single · Missing in Action / Air War - Winter Soldier II (Vietnam Veteran Testimony) · Rounder # 4505 · USA

Themes: Anti-War Vet Military P.O.W. M.I.A. Napalm

Genres: ♪ JazzSpoken Word

Also in: ▤ Ellsberg & Pentagon Papers Songs▤ Jazz Songs▤ My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#80 Yank Barry Welcome Home POW's 1973 · Single · McConnell Records # 10661 · Canada

Welcome Home POWs (Barry, Yank)

McConnell Records Ltd. 10661-A, 45 RPM, stereo, 3:02; (Yank Barry); Gloveda Music Inc., ASCAP; produced by Yank Barry; engineered by Karl Richardson. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Homecoming Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#81 Kim Whittington Welcome Home Daddy 1973 · Single · Please Let Me Die / Welcome Home Daddy · Sun Down # 02 · USA

Welcome Home Daddy (Whittington, Kim)

Country, child, home front perspective, P.O.W.
Mississippi, USA.
Hello daddy, been so long since I've seen you.
Held in a prison camp in Vietnam

Sun Down, side 2, #02-2, stereo, time 2:36, BMI; (Vern Pullens); published by Pontchartrain Music Co., Rt. 1, Box 258, Carriere, Miss. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Child Homecoming

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Children on Record

#82 Tommy Harp Our Soldier 1973 · Single · Our Soldier / P.O.W. · Harptone # 101 · USA

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

#83 Tommy Harp P.O.W. 1973 · Single · Our Soldier / P.O.W. · Harptone # 101 · USA

Theme: P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Country

#84 Mick Lloyd A Long Long Time Ago 1974 · Single · Top of the Heap / A Long Long Time Ago · JMT # 104 · USA

The song "A Long, Long Time Ago" (JMT Records # 104), released in 1974, looked at a P.O.W.'s transition from being held in a prison in Vietnam ( "behind those bars" ) for nearly a decade, to returning to the US. Many changes had taken place, from the capture of the narrator in 1966 to his release in 1973: "hair...much longer...values have all changed, my mind is so confused" . He also questioned whether he "did...what was needed...was my body merely used" - perhaps a reflection of the change in US public opinion from 1966, when many people considered the war to be necessary, to 1973, when a majority of the public, and politicians, wanted the war to end, and many viewed the conflict as a mistake. The lyrics also included a personal tale. The soldier had just got married in the US when "my country called for me" i.e. drafted to fight in Vietnam. He did not see his new wife for seven years. Released in Washington D.C. Written by Michael Lloyd Lipitz - presumably the artist's real name. Produced by Elmer Willett and Tony Moon.

JMT Records JMT 104B (NR3861-2), stereo, grey label; "A Long Long Time Ago" (Michael Lloyd Lipitz), 4:16, Tom Karter Music—BMI; executive producer Elmer Willett, producer Tony Moon. 1346 Conn. Ave., Washington, D.C. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

#85 Jerry Taylor Amnesty From America 1974 · Single · World International # WI-1002 · USA

Country, patriotic, My Lai, M.I.A., draft dodgers, Nixon, Watergate, Ford.
People fought to keep America free, times have changed.
Welfare on the rise, busing children (anti-Civil Rights), communists, protestors
Nixon resigned, Ford gave him amnesty
Amnesty also for draft dodgers - but what about the M.I.A. in Vietnam?
What about Lt. Calley, put on trial and in prison for doing his duty?

Promo with the same song both sides (mono/stereo); distributed by IRDA (IRDA 009); lacquer cut by Mack Evans at Masterfonics, Nashville. Location is the label's (5023 Temple Rd., Nashville). World International WI-1002-A (IRDA 009), D.J. copy, white label with globe design; "Amnesty From America" (Jerry Taylor), 3:40; produced by Jim Baker; distributed by International Record Distributing Assoc., 911 17th Ave. South, Nashville, Tn. 37212. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order M.I.A. Draft Dodger

Genres: ♪ CountrySpoken Word

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#86 Alfonso Ray Riate Play Your Guitars, American Friends 1975 · Compilation · What Now, People? · Paredon # P-2001 · USA

What Now People? Volume 1 (Paredon Records # P-2001), released on the label founded by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber in 1969, whose objective was to "seek out the music and speech, documentary or dialogue, that spring from the conscious artist who relates to people's movements, and which pour from all people in struggle".¹ This record label released several albums either about the Vietnam War or that contained a Vietnam War song, which are discussed on this list. See the note below. Also note that in 1969 Dane and Sliber published the book "The Vietnam Song Book" which included the notation and lyrics of one hundred anti-war songs collected from around the world.

This album contained four songs that dealt with Vietnam War issues. These are "It Could Have Been Me" by Holly Near about the Kent State, Ohio demonstration, which also appeared on her LP A Live Album (see the sub-list); Oscar Brand's "A Very Nice Country" about Americans living in Canada in exile (because of draft avoidance and opposition to the war); "Ballad of the Unknown Soldier" by Barbara Dane. Finally, it included the song "Play Your Guitars, American Friends" by Alfonso Ray Riate, a Vietnam veteran who had been a P.O.W. Dane wrote in the record booklet that: "I first heard Al Riate sing as he stood with two other former POWs on the platform of a rally for amnesty in Washington, D.C. He was simply glowing with the joy of finally being there....I immediately asked him if he would record one of the Vietnamese songs...Al...confirmed the fact that far more fellow POWs felt as they did than identified with the officers who had kept themselves apart in sour disdain of the Vietnamese, with their sights on their future military careers".²

Riate was born on 29 April 1945 in Sebastopol, California, USA, and died on 28 November 1984, in Lynwood, CA, USA. He joined the US Marine Corps in December 1964 at the age of 19. His father came from the Philipines, and his mother was a Native American from California. The army reported Riate M.I.A. on 26 April 1967 following a battle in Quang Tri Province in the vicinity of Hill 861. On 12 July 1967 he was reported K.I.A., but body not recovered (B.N.R.). A memorial plaque erected says: "1945-1967". However, the army eventually reported that he was in fact a P.O.W. He returned to the US on 16 March 1973.³ The army charged Riate for collaborating with the enemy, but the charges were dropped in 1973.⁴

Composed in Hanoi in December 1969 by Phạm Tuyên, a well-known North Vietnamese songwriter, about an anti-war demonstration in the US, which became popular across North Vietnam.⁵ It started out with an English spoken-word introduction from Riate, who told the listener that he had served "six years as an American prisoner of war in Vietnam" . He then recited the song in Vietnamese, which took an anti-war, peace perspective, calling on Americans to march and play songs of protest against US intervention in Vietnam.

Themes: Anti-War P.O.W. Military

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#87 Dick Lee Blame it On Nixon 1975 · Single · Blame it On Nixon / Picture of Carylon Sue · Stupid # BS 415 · USA

Song poem, traditional pop.

A-side: Pro-Nixon, he's innocent of Watergate riots, people killed in Vietnam, drugs, death penalty. "If daughter is raped by neighbour, blame it on Nixon".

B-side: P.O.W. - war is over, men coming home from Vietnam. Soldier kept a picture of wife ion his pocket while a P.O.W. Came back to US, wife had left him. He returned a hero, but killed himself

Stupid Records BS 415 A/B, turquoise label printed in purple; "Blame It on Nixon", 2:30, and "Picture of Carylon Sue", 2:05, both with writers Terry Thomas and Bobby D. Jackson; publisher Oleta Music (BMI); © 1975 B.D.J.; vocal Dick Lee. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Nixon Watergate Drugs Song Poem

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Song Poems

#88 Dick Lee Picture of Carylon Sue 1975 · Single · Blame it On Nixon / Picture of Carylon Sue · Stupid # BS 415 · USA

Annotation: see “Blame it On Nixon” above (same release).

Themes: P.O.W. Coming Home Vet Dear John Letter Suicide Song Poem

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems

#89 Stephen Adams Why 1975 · Single · Self-released # 1255574 · USA

Pro-Nixon narrative, Vietnam, P.O.W., patriotic.
He stands alone, criticised, forced to resign (Watergate).
But press to blame - lying to the people.
Journalistic crucifixion.
He served country, bombed Vietnam
Ensured the return of the P.O.W.s. Secured peace.
Reference to the atomic bomb

Private issue: "Why", written by Stephen Adams, © 1975; 1255574-A (stereo) / 1255574-B (mono); Stephen Adams, 70-A Eastgate Center, Chatt., Tenn. 37421.

Warner Bros. promo pick-up: "Why?", WBS 8084 (TTN0548), stereo / mono promo, 3:14, "Promotion Not For Sale"; (Stephen Adams), Nanaljo Music / Algee Music, BMI; background music "God Bless America" (Irving Berlin), Irving Berlin Music Corp., ASCAP; in a Warner/Reprise company sleeve. [From the record labels]

Themes: Nixon Watergate P.O.W. Patriotic Journalist

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordSpeech

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#90 Red River Dave Ol' Tex Ritter and His Deck of Cards 1975 · Single · Ol' Tex Ritter and His Deck of Cards / Rainbow of Love · Reveal # A-101 · USA

- Country, released in Nashville, artist from San Antonio, Texas
- JFK, Nixon, P.O.W., patriotic, WW1, WW2, Korea
- Tribute to Tex Ritter and his famous war song
- Fought wars for democracy
- Salute to Nixon who ended the war and brought the P.O.W.s home

- Reveal Records A-101 (NR6041-1), "Winning Sound of Nashville", stereo, yellow label; "Ol' Tex Ritter and His Deck of Cards" (Dave McEnery), 4:54, Music Clearance, A.S.C.A.P.; Red River Dave and Guitar. This copy is inscribed by hand "To KUT-FM, Red River Dave". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Nixon JFK Peace WW1

Genres: ♪ CountryWestern Swing

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#91 Colette Magny Les Cages à Tigre 1975 · Album · Transit · Le Chant Du Monde (series: Le Nouveau Chansonnier International) # LDX 74570 · France

"Nguyễn Đức Thuận who wrote a book detailing his experiences in a South Vietnamese prison, which is one of the inspiration behind Les cages à tigre"¹¹

Credited to Colette Magny / Free Jazz Workshop. Made in France, (P) 1975. Three sleeve variants (laminated glossy with silver print; two matte). Personnel: Colette Magny (vocals, guitar), Jean Mereu (trumpet), Maurice Merle (sax), Louis Sclavis (soprano sax, bass clarinet), Patrick Vollat & Rémy Gevron (piano), Jean Bolcato (bass), Christian Ville (drums). Producer Matthias Winckelmann.

Recorded/mixed by Robert Prudon at Studio Résonances. 'Les Cages à Tigre' refers to the Con Son 'tiger cage' prison cells of South Vietnam. Refers to the 'tiger cage' prison cells at Con Son and is partly inspired by Nguyễn Đức Thuận's book on his experiences in a South Vietnamese prison; recorded with the Free Jazz Workshop and produced by Matthias Winckelmann.

Format: triple gatefold.

Themes: P.O.W. Vietnamese Perspective South Vietnamese Protest

Genres: ♪ JazzFree Jazz

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Jazz Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#92 Don Barry Pardon Me, Mr. President 1977 · Single · Black Cat # CAT-8-656 · USA

Pardon Me, Mr. President (Barry, Don)

Midfield, Alabama, USA.
Country music, post-war 1977 - Carter-era. Patriotic.
Narrator a M.I.A. / P.O.W.
Upset with President Carter's pardon of draft dodgers (January 1977).

Black Cat Records CAT-8-656-A, stereo, 544 Bessemer Super Hwy., Midfield, Alabama 35228, phone 923-1980; "Pardon Me, Mr. President" (Don Barry), time 3:24, Black Cat Music, BMI, ℗ 1977; produced by Thomas Ward, recorded at Hemphill Studio, Midfield, Ala.; "A Hemphill Music Production". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Draft Dodger Anti-Protest Carter P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

#93 Bill Agle Forgotten Tears 1978 · Album · Lover's Rain · TGS # TGS-1004 · USA

Vet artist

Forgotten Tears - P.O.W in Vietnam
Galaxy - written in South East Asia for children that died during the evacuation of Saigon in 1975.

Themes: P.O.W. Vet

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

#94 Bill Agle Galaxy 1978 · Album · Lover's Rain · TGS # TGS-1004 · USA

Themes: Fall of Saigon Refugees Child

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Vietnamese Refugees & Boat People

#95 Jack Elliott M.I.A. Soldier 1979 · Single · M.I.A. Soldier / Trucker Jim's Last Run · Jelly # 8-11-79 · USA

- M.I.A. / P.O.W. issue, country, post-war
- Narrated from perspective of parents
- See combat vet on crouches - his son
- Left a kid, returned a man.

- Jelly Records ("Jam with Jelly"), side A, 8-11-79, time 3:20; (Elmer M. Aho); JLE Publishing Inc., ASCAP; produced by Jack Elliott; JLE Productions, Inc., 38 Music Sq. E., Nashville, Tn. Artist printed "Jack Elliott". [From the record label]

Themes: M.I.A. Vet Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

#96 Bruce Roberts Prisoner of War 1980 · Single · The Leader / Prisoner of War · Eagle # FL4537 · USA

Prisoner of War (Roberts, Bruce)

Folk, P.O.W., helicopter sound-effects.
I'm a P.O.W. - do people know I'm alive?
Don't forget me
Memories of home.
Fought got country but now I'm in a bamboo cage
Some prisoners have gone insane and brainwashed.

A-side - is related to the Iranian Hostage Crisis, and pro-Reagan. Also references JFK, MLK, Washington, and Lincoln.

Eagle Music FL4537, side two, stereo, time 4:38, ASCAP; words and music Bruce Roberts, Folksinger; © ℗ 1980. Sleeve carries his card: "Bruce Roberts, Folksinger — Singing for God and Country", 6 Putnam Road, Ipswich, MA. [From the record label and sleeve]

Themes: P.O.W. Vet

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

#97 Mike Callender Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives 1981 · Single · Soldier of 'Nam / Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives · Sea Side # SSB-055/015 · USA

A double-sided Vietnam War single, released in Tabor City, North Carolina, USA. On the b-side, the song "Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives" (Sea Side Records # SSB-055/015) addressed the treatment of Vietnam veterans after the Paris Peace Accords. The narrated argued that society and the government ignored the veterans: "the vets of 'Nam seem to be forgotten by Uncle Sam" . The narrated contrasted this to World War Two, recalling that when the soldier's returned, people "celebrated, the band played, the flags flew" . The narrator turned his attention to the issue of those missing in Vietnam: "M.I.A.s, P.O.W.s...how can we just let this issue die when many wives and children sit at home and cry" . On the a-side, the track "Soldier of 'Nam" addressed the Vietnam syndrome - narrated in the first person, a man described being drafted to fight in Vietnam, and then returning to the US facing jeers. It referenced agent orange. Composed by R. Stevens. Produced by Elson H. Stevens (owner of the record label). Publisher: Creekside Music. Performing Rights: BMI.

Sea Side Records SSB-055/015 (UR 2933), stereo, 45 RPM; ℗ 1981 Creekside Music, BMI; produced by E. Stevens; "Southern Sound Productions, 100 Labon St., Tabor City, N.C. 28463". "Soldier of 'Nam" (R. Stevens), 3:04; flip side "Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives" (R. Stevens), 2:36. Issued in a Sea Side company sleeve printed with the Southern Sound Productions address and telephone (919) 653-2546. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: M.I.A. P.O.W. Patriotic Vietnam Syndrome Draft WW2

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

#98 Mike Callender Soldier of 'Nam 1981 · Single · Soldier of 'Nam / Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives · Sea Side # SSB-055/015 · USA

Annotation: see “Forgotten Lives - Forgotten Wives” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (30 lines) ▾

Themes: Draft Soldier's Perspective Agent Orange Vietnam Syndrome

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

#99 Jadam Bring Home the M.I.A.s 1981 · Single · Bring Home the M.I.A.s / Proposal · Ultra Nova # UN2626 · USA

Bring Home the M.I.A.s (Jadam)

P.O.W., prisoner of war song.
Pop, post-war 1980s.
Iranian hostage crisis (reference to the '52' in the chorus - the number of American hostages).

Ultra Nova Records UN2626, stereo, © 1981 Ultra Nova Records – Jadam Productions; "Bring Home the M.I.A.'s", Jadam, 2:58, published by Ultra Nova Publishing, ASCAP. The label prints the dedication "This song is dedicated to the veterans of the Vietnam War and to the M.I.A.'s wherever they may be" – Jadam. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Patriotic Iranian Hostage Crisis Vietnam Analogy

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#100 Jerry D. Stewart Welcome Home Veterans 1981 · Single · Chaton # CR-113 · USA

Credited on the record as Jerry Steward.

Country, Vietnam P.O.W.s, vets, Iranian hostage crisis
Parade and yellow ribbons to welcome home 52 hostages held in Iran, 8 men gone.
Hell in Iran reminds me of Vietnam, disabled vet, held prisoner.
Remember friend killed in action (K.I.A.) in Vietnam.
I'm a VFW from Vietnam at home in the USA

"Welcome Home Veterans", vocal Jerry D. Stewart; CR-113, stereo, 45 RPM, 4:00; © ℗ 1981 Camelback Pub. Co., BMI; written and arranged by Fran (and) Jerry D. Stewart; Eddie Cummings, steel guitar; Darrell Mock, drums; Chaton Recordings, Scottsdale, Arizona. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Iranian Hostage Crisis Vet K.I.A. Vietnam Analogy

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#101 Manowar Shell Shock 1982 · Album · Battle Hymns · Liberty # LBG 30349 · USA

Manowar, an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed" . Firstly, the song "Death Tone" , portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability.

Secondly, the album included the song "Shell Shock" , which also looked at the negative psychological impact of the war on a Vietnam veteran. As the title suggested, the narrator suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The song also included references to the chemical weapon Napalm B, the Purple Heart (a US military decoration), and the military classification M.I.A. The lyrics started with a man drafted into the army, who then told the listener that "I live in Saigon, we've got a team of special forces, we deliver napalm" . As previously discussed, the US government extensively used napalm during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.¹²³ While in Vietnam, the soldier wrote a letter to his sweetheart which mentioned his fear of becoming M.I.A.: "if they tell you that I'm M.I.A., think a little less about me" . The soldier then returned home. He had received "a purple heart to show the world I'm brave" but he felt "shell shocked" . The veteran criticised the "businessmen" who "sat at home" making money, while he had to fight the war.

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Saigon Napalm M.I.A. Purple Heart Medals

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy MetalPower Metal

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Metal Songs

#102 Manowar Death tone 1982 · Album · Battle Hymns · Liberty # LBG 30349 · USA

Annotation: see “Shell Shock” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (28 lines) ▾

Themes: Vet Disabled Vet Draft Mistreatment of Vet

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy MetalPower Metal

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Metal Songs

#103 Russ Scarvelli America Loves You 1982 · Single · America Loves You / Bring Back Our Friends (P.O.W.s / M.I.A.s) · Deros # D-8217 · USA

Credited on the record as Russ Scarvelli & The American Dream.

Bring Back Our Friends (P.O.W.s / M.I.A.s) (Scarvelli, Russ)

Deros/ETS D-8217, white label, "All Profits to the Northern Ohio Vietnam Veterans Association, Inc."; side A "America Loves You" (Gary S. Byers), Gary Stevene Music, ASCAP, ℗ © 1982, time 3:35, engineers George Sipl & Joe Outlaw, with special thanks listed to Barry Wienberg and staff, Walt Tiburski, Ramona Scarvelli, Jerry Seeley, John Devall, Michael P. Scarvelli Jr., Frank Tracz and Brian & Jakki Taylor; side B "Bring Back Our Friends (P.O.W.s/M.I.A.s)" (Bruce D. Berger), Kerri Lor Music, BMI, ℗ © 1982, time 2:55 (D 8217 B, UR 4035 B), engineer George Sipl, with thanks to Bruce Berger "for special permission to re-arrange lyrics", donation of all royalties to N.O.V.V.A., So.

Euclid, Ohio, and "Special Gratitude to My Wife, Teresa (Russ Scarvelli)". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Soldier's Perspective Vet

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#104 Russ Scarvelli Bring Back Our Friends (P.O.W.s / M.I.A.s) 1982 · Single · America Loves You / Bring Back Our Friends (P.O.W.s / M.I.A.s) · Deros # D-8217 · USA

Credited on the record as Russ Scarvelli & The American Dream.

Annotation: see “America Loves You” above (same release).

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. JFK Patriotic

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#105 Jeannie Hinck Political Prisoner 1982 · Single · The Wayne Cryts Song / Political Prisoner · Capetown # UR 3264 · USA

Political Prisoner (Hinck, Jeannie)

Country.
Hinck - Missouri.
Label - Nashville, Tennessee.

Is this Vietnam-related?
More generic prisoner song, as stated in the title.

Capetown Records, 37 Music Sq. E., Nash. Tn. 37203, UR 3264 B, Side B, stereo, yellow label; "Political Prisoner" (J. Hinck), 3:14, Cape Rock Music ASCAP. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

#106 Reggie Gates & Tim Nowland Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam 1983 · Single · Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam / Tell All the World · Operation Freedom Bird # ARM-8379 · USA

The patriotic post-war song "Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam" (Operation Freedom Bird # ARM-8379), performed by Reggie Gates & Tim Nowland, looked at the M.I.A. / P.O.W. issue. Released in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA., which they referenced in the first line of the song. The narrators headed out from Alaska to Washington D.C. to raise awareness of the "unsung heroes left back in Vietnam" , the "foxhole buddy in prison" . The lyrics quoted the number of missing as "2,600" .

The song also named three people officially declared M.I.A. Firstly, Thomas R. Okerlund, born in Seattle, 5 August 1948. His plane went missing on 3 January 1971, presumed to have been shot down and its crew killed.¹ Secondly, Howard B. Waldron, born in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, 18 May 1926. His C-123 transport, with 47 people on board, was shot down on its way to the Khe Sanh Air Base in Vietnam on 6 March 1968, with all the passengers listed as M.I.A., although presumed dead.²³ Thirdly, Alan F. Ashall, born in Billings, Montana, 6 June 1943, flew in an A-6B Intruder on 29 August 1968 an an armed reconnaissance mission in the Vinh Son area of North Vietnam, where he encountered surface-to-air missiles (SAM). He lost radio contact and a large fireball was observed in the vicinity. He was declared M.I.A.⁴ This is an excellent example of the inflated statistics of those M.I.A. / P.O.W. in the 1970s / 80s period. In all three cases mentioned in the song, the soldiers had been involved in fatal incidents in which their bodies were not recovered. Yet, the military officially declared them as missing, rather then killed in action. The government then combined the M.I.A. statistics with the P.O.W. statistics, creating the impression that these soldiers may still be alive in Vietnam.

Operation Freedom Bird ARM-8379, 45 RPM, ℗ 1983 Operation Freedom Bird, 1919 Lathrop St., Fairbanks, Alaska 99701; Side 1 (ARM-8379A): "Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam" by Reggie Gates & Tim Nowland, recorded at Dome; Side 2 (ARM-8379B): "Tell All the World" by John Mallerne & Dave Lindstrom, Jim Cava – vocal, recorded in New York. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

Themes: M.I.A. P.O.W. Patriotic

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

#107 G.I. M.I.A. (Missing in Action) 1983 · Single · M.I.A. / Fool's Game · G.I. [Monrovia] # RM125 · USA

"Dedicated to all the M.I.A." written on back of picture sleeve.

Theme: M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ RockNew Wave

#108 Jim Cava Tell All the World 1983 · Single · Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam / Tell All the World · Operation Freedom Bird # ARM-8379 · USA

Operation Freedom Bird ARM-8379, 45 RPM, ℗ 1983 Operation Freedom Bird, 1919 Lathrop St., Fairbanks, Alaska 99701; Side 1 (ARM-8379A): "Bring 'Em on Home From 'Nam" by Reggie Gates & Tim Nowland, recorded at Dome; Side 2 (ARM-8379B): "Tell All the World" by John Mallerne & Dave Lindstrom, Jim Cava – vocal, recorded in New York. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

#109 The Red Rippers Who Remembers 1983 · Album · Over There ... and Over Here · Oracle # 308075 · USA

Themes: Military Vet P.O.W. Jane Fonda

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Rock

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#110 Tarnfarbe Saigon 1984 · Album · Heroes of Today · Rat # RR 040 · Germany

The song "Saigon" . This contained strong anti-war sentiment, referenced P.O.W.s, PTSD, drug use, and focused on the indiscriminate killing of civilian, referencing the use of napalm: "to burn the land with napalm, you slaughter innocent women and kids" . The lyrics looked at the negative impact of the war on soldiers and possible veterans, both physically: "see your friend loosing both of his legs" , and mentally, with a reference to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), frequently referenced in post-war 1980s songs about US veterans, often connected in songs to stress, shell shock, flashbacks, nostalgia, and feelings and dreams related to an event: "blow your mind to bits... you cry... closer to insanity step by step" . The song also noted the use of drugs in Vietnam: "take a lotta drugs to mitigate your pain" . Finally, the song made a reference to being held a prisoner of war (P.O.W.) in North Vietnam: "torture in Vietcong’s captivity... somewhere between Saigon and Hanoi" . Vietcong (or "VC") referred to the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam.

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Napalm Anti-War VC Vet Drugs P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ PunkHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Punk Songs

#111 Tarnfarbe Agent Orange 1984 · Album · Heroes of Today · Rat # RR 040 · Germany

Annotation: see “Saigon” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (36 lines) ▾

Themes: Agent Orange Anti-War Napalm

Genres: ♪ PunkHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Punk Songs

#112 The Dooley Bros. Band Home of the Brave 1984 · Single · Home of the Brave / Bring Them Home · Sitting Duck # 410023XA · USA

Home of the Brave (Dooley Brothers, The)
Bring Them Home (Moore, Jimmy)

Post-war charity record for Vietnam vets and victims of Agent Orange. singer/songwriter. Chicago, Illinois.
A-side: Boy went to war for a lasting peace and freedom but K.I.A. - a war nobody won. Where is his grave? Left a widow. Minor P.O.W. reference.
B-side: P.O.W. / M.I.A. - bring them home and remember the vets.

Sitting Duck 410023X, © 1984 Joe Hertel, ASCAP, orange labels printed "Proceeds benefit Vietnam Veterans who are victims of Agent Orange";
Side 1 (410023XA): "Home of the Brave" (Joe Hertel), The Dooley Bros. Band, 3:12;
Side 2 (410023XB): "Bring Them Home" (J. Hertel – J. Moore), Jimmy Moore, 4:33.

The picture sleeve front has a pen drawing, signed Blinn, of a soldier sitting hunched with his head on his knees before a wall of jagged stakes, captioned with both titles and "The Dooley Brothers" and "Jimmy Moore".

The back, headed "For the record... you are helping Vietnam Vets", states that proceeds go to the Agent Orange Emergency Financial Relief Fund for Vietnam veterans facing hospital bills, doctor fees and related debts ("It is not the vet who should owe, rather, we owe the vet"), and credits The Dooley Brothers Band with Gerry Field (arrangement and performance of "Home of the Brave"), Jimmy Moore (music, arrangement and performance of "Bring Them Home"), Joe Hertel (words and music to "Home of the Brave" and words to "Bring Them Home"), The Right Track Recording Studio, Chicago, Bob Blinn (engineering), QCA, Cincinnati (pressing) and Mary Blinn (jacket design and graphics).

Recorded live at the Right Track Studio, Chicago, with Joe Hertel in charge of production; The Dooley Brothers Band appears courtesy of Dool Toons Records; contact address Sitting Duck, c/o Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 153, P.O. Box 306, Blue Island, IL 60406.

The back also carries a handwritten inscription, "Keep the faith". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Mistreatment of Vet M.I.A. P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Singer Songwriter

#113 Jimmy Moore Bring Them Home 1984 · Single · Home of the Brave / Bring Them Home · Sitting Duck # 410023XA · USA

Sitting Duck 410023X, © 1984 Joe Hertel, ASCAP, orange labels printed "Proceeds benefit Vietnam Veterans who are victims of Agent Orange";
Side 1 (410023XA): "Home of the Brave" (Joe Hertel), The Dooley Bros. Band, 3:12;
Side 2 (410023XB): "Bring Them Home" (J. Hertel – J. Moore), Jimmy Moore, 4:33.

The picture sleeve front has a pen drawing, signed Blinn, of a soldier sitting hunched with his head on his knees before a wall of jagged stakes, captioned with both titles and "The Dooley Brothers" and "Jimmy Moore".

The back, headed "For the record... you are helping Vietnam Vets", states that proceeds go to the Agent Orange Emergency Financial Relief Fund for Vietnam veterans facing hospital bills, doctor fees and related debts ("It is not the vet who should owe, rather, we owe the vet"), and credits The Dooley Brothers Band with Gerry Field (arrangement and performance of "Home of the Brave"), Jimmy Moore (music, arrangement and performance of "Bring Them Home"), Joe Hertel (words and music to "Home of the Brave" and words to "Bring Them Home"), The Right Track Recording Studio, Chicago, Bob Blinn (engineering), QCA, Cincinnati (pressing) and Mary Blinn (jacket design and graphics).

Recorded live at the Right Track Studio, Chicago, with Joe Hertel in charge of production; The Dooley Brothers Band appears courtesy of Dool Toons Records; contact address Sitting Duck, c/o Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 153, P.O. Box 306, Blue Island, IL 60406.

The back also carries a handwritten inscription, "Keep the faith". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Agent Orange Vet

Genre: ♪ Singer Songwriter

#114 James Young Prisoner Of War 1985 · Album · City Slicker · Passport # PB6051 · Czech Republic

The song "Prisoner of War" (Passport Records # PB6051) looked at the P.O.W. / M.I.A. issue as related to the Vietnam War. This song was a collaboration with Jan Hammer, born on 17 April 1948 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He is currently based in New York, USA. The lyrics looked at the prisoner's perspective, "lock you up in a cell... no doors, not windows" . It contained the famous line from the war years, "what were you fighting for?" , leaning towards an anti-war perspective.

Credited as 'James Young (3) With Jan Hammer'. Jan Hammer: keyboards, drums, bass, producer; James Young: lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals, producer. Recorded at Redgate Studios, Holmes, NY. Marketed by Jem Records. Released with printed inner with lyrics. Also Canadian, UK 1986, German 1986, Japanese, Brazilian and CD editions. Collaboration with Jan Hammer on the album City Slicker (Passport Records), written from the prisoner's perspective.

Show full lyrics (25 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Fighting For Anti-War Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#115–117 Stev Manteiv Ambush 1985 · Album · SM # 1 · USA

3 of the 10 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

Album of Vietnam War songs, many dealing with post-war issues, such as the mistreatment of vets, the Vietnam Syndrome, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the memorial wall in D.C., the effects of Agent Orange, the use of napalm and combat conditions, including P.O.W.s / M.I.A. The band name "Stev Mantiev" is actually "Vietnam Vets" reversed. Released in Detroit, Michigan, USA, the main vocalist was Bill House, who released a bunch of albums in the late 70s.¹ The album also featured Detroit-born Rob Tyner (a formed member of MC5), Vietnam vet Johnny Maxwell, Drew Abbott (a guitarist with Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band), and Marcus Belgrave.²³⁴ The back of the record sleeve said the following:

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#118 Johnny Moore I Believe in My Country 1985 · Single · Woodsmoke # WS 1185 · USA

I Believe in My Country

Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Patriotic, P.O.W. / M.I.A., post-war, fanfare/country
Concerned about our country.
From 1776 to 1985 people have fought for our land
Still don't know what happened to the 2,100 missing in Vietnam
Hostages in Beirut

Woodsmoke Records WS 1185 A (U-15042), stereo, time 4:22, D.J. copy; (Jim Kelly & Dick Dorney); Kelly-Moore Music, BMI; produced by Jim Kelly; distributed by Woodsmoke Records, Box 268, Hermitage, Tn. [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

#119 Sgt. Slaughter Missing in Action 1985 · Album · Rocks America · Cobra # BR-14-2054 · USA

Credited on the record as Sgt. Slaughter & Camouflage.

Themes: M.I.A. Patriotic

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#120 Jerry Goldsmith Main Title 1985 · Soundtrack · Rambo: First Blood Part II (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · Varèse Sarabande # STV 81246 · USA

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicFilm Score

#121 Roger Wright Heroes of Vietnam 1986 · Single · Heroes of Vietnam / Heroes of Vietnam · Six-One-Five # S1003 · USA

The song "Heroes of Vietnam" (Six-One-Five Records # S1003) by Roger Wright received a minor reference in Billboard, on 17 August 1985: "At Disc Mastering Inc., engineer Randy Kling recently completed mastering the single 'Heroes of Vietnam', a tribute to veterans, performed by Roger Wright and produced by Harold Bradley for Rustic Records".¹ However, as noted above, the label Six-One-Five Records, in Nashville, Tennessee, released the single. Co-written by Wright and Robert Bates, who both originally came from Forest Hill, Louisiana.²

An interesting track that dealt with several common post-war issues - the "Vietnam syndrome", P.O.W.'s, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the Vietnam wall memorial in Washington D.C. The song told the story of Jim being drafted to fight in Vietnam in 1964, and "without a word, like his dad" he marched off to war - a reference perhaps to the Second World War or Korean War. Whichever case, the song attempted to connect the American generations that fought for their country. The narrator said that Jim went to "fight for freedom" , and that he did his duty: "no one could call him yellow" . Shortly after arriving in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese "captured and displayed" him "in Hanoi" , and therefore a P.O.W. While "locked up in a cage for over a year" he lived in terrible conditions: "cold, tired and hungry" . After returning to the US, Jim suffered from his war time experiences: "his mind plays tricks with fear" . He found it difficult to sleep and Jim's "nightmares linger on" - thus describing PTSD. Finally, as discussed above, the song sought to reverse the perceived mistreatment of veterans, highlighting their bravery and loyalty to the country, and thus overcoming the Vietnam syndrome: "we salute you and your past...you're heroes at last" . And for the ones that died, the "black wall lists them one by one" , remembering the role that they played.

615 (Six-One-Five Records) S1003 A, purple label with a Nashville skyline; "Heroes of Vietnam" (R. Wright, R. Bates), intro :17, 3:38; One Horse Music, BMI, and Robert Bates Publishing, ASCAP; produced by Harold Bradley. Distributed by Six-One-Five Records, P.O. Box 110829, Nashville, TN 37222. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. Hanoi Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

Genres: ♪ CountryContemporary Country

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#122–124 Bill McKenna Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am 1986 · Album · FPOSF # 1102108 · USA

3 of the 9 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

Bill McKenna served with the marines in Vietnam, and returned to the US disabled. He became a regular performer at the Skidmore Freedom Fest. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. The title on the front cover, "F.P.O San Francisco" , referred to the US military postal system, either known as APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office). The San Francisco gateway dealt with overseas mail to Vietnam.¹² He released this Vietnam-themed LP in the rock-pop genre in 1986, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The title track, "Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am" , looked at a Vietnam veteran's attempt to find his place in society - which had labelled Vietnam a failure and a mistake. It can be viewed as part of a 1980s, Reagan-era trend of nationalism, or attempt to overcome the "Vietnam Syndrome". This song also referenced the My Lai massacre.

The track "Jake's Song" (FPOSF # 1102108) looked at the perspective of two soldiers held captive in Vietnam as prisoners of war (P.O.W.). The narrator explained that his and Jake's plane went down in the jungle, which they survived. However, they ended up "caught and beaten, locked in this goddamn cage" . The captors separated the soldiers, and the narrator wondered what happened to Jake, while he started to lose hope. It concluded with the soldier wishing he would die.

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#125 Bobby & Virginia Lee From a Cross to a Star 1986 · Album · Vietnam: The Soldier's Story · JRM # JRM4-20-87 · USA

This various artist compilation, a picture disc 12" vinyl, released in Salem, Virginia, USA, contained 9 Vietnam War-related songs, all composed by Virginia L. Hambrick (JRM Records # JRM4-20-87). Recorded at the JRM Studio, in Salem, produced by Jack Mullins. Many of the songs seem to feature the vocals and music of Bobby and Virginia Lee (Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 81, Roanoke, Virginia). The back of the LP also had a picture of a soldier called Mary Stout (National Officer of Vietnam Veterans of America, Washington D.C.) - but it's not clear what role she played on the record. The sleeve also contained a dedication from Virginia Lee:

"this collection of songs is dedicated to the men and women who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and to their families, many who whom continue to struggle with the aftereffects of an unpopular guerilla war. To my husband, Bobby Lee, an in-country Vietnam veteran...is my inspiration. A special thanks to the veterans who donated their time and efforts (including back-up vocals) towards making this project possible, and to the veterans, of Vet Center 226, and to the Vietnam Veterans of America"

This is followed by a statement from Bobby Lee, about the song "Angel in the Green":

"Too little has been said about the women who served in the Armed Force of the United States of America...much too little. Perhaps it is our fault...the fault of men, especially veteran men. We hide our good feeling...such as pride, honor, and gratitude. Angel in the Green is...about the women I served with, women who elected to leave the security of a traditional world to serve their country; to risk their futures and their lives...these women are veteran in every respect, I salute them with pride."

The song "From a Cross to a Star" dealt with the memorial wall in D.C. and the missing in action (M.I.A. issue). A country track, it took a religious perspective, with the narrator recalling a man and woman who visit the "cold slab of stone" everyday. Their son is apparently still classified as M.I.A., with a cross by their name. The couple prayed that the cross would turn to a star. The song does not mention P.O.W.s.

Side B track 4 (3:39). JRM Records JRM4-20-87, picture disc LP in die-cut sleeve ("Special Collector's Edition"). Vocals: Virginia Lee, Bobby Lee, Bill Craft, Leon Pugh, Rhonda Lee. All songs written by Virginia L. Hambrick (BMI) © 1986; published by Double Jack Co. (BMI), Salem, Virginia; recorded at JRM Studio, Salem. Produced by Jack Mullins; engineer and special arrangements Rick Mullins; harmony vocals Virginia, Bobby & Rhonda Lee, Bill Craft, Jackie Jean and members of Vet Center 226; guitars Bobby Lee, Bobby Smith; keyboards Aubrey Hilton & David Ferguson; steel guitar Mike Calloway, Joey McCray, Mike Sweeney; drums Rick Mullins; bass Chuck Crush; harmonica Bobby Smith; "marching and combat sounds are authentic". Back cover: Mary Stout (National Officer of Vietnam Veterans of America) and Bobby & Virginia Lee (Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 81, Roanoke, Virginia); Bobby Lee served with the 19th Combat Engineers in Vietnam, 1966–67. Portions of the proceeds were used to aid needy veterans. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall M.I.A. Religion Vet Military

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#126–132 Kimo A Chance to Live 1986 · Album · JEIO # 1745 · USA

All 7 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

80s post-war, pop, Vietnam P.O.W. themed album.
All tracks Vietnam related.

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#133 Doug Ranno Part of Me Is Still in Vietnam 1986 · Single · Ranno # RR-8601 · USA

Part of Me Is Still in Vietnam (Ranno, Doug)

Post-war 80s. Pop rock. Sacramento, California.
Veteran still living with Vietnam - PTSD.
Reference to M.I.A.'s.
A war without reason - people who died were innocent.

Ranno Records RR-8601, BMI, 45 RPM, blue label, copyright 1986, PA 892-369; the same song on both sides, "Side 1 - Stereo" and "Side 2 - Mono", time 3:35.

Picture sleeve front: the title in red over blue, with the title repeated in white lines and stars across the sleeve.

Sleeve back: "Dedicated to all people affected by the Vietnam War"; words and music © Doug Ranno, copyright PA892369 1986, published BMI Ranno Records 1986; produced by Doug Ranno with special thanks to Mike Mallett and Tom Phillips; recorded at Harbor Studios, Sacramento, California; manufactured by Sonic Arts; design by Diane Brown; special thanks to Michael Kelley, Tony Allen and Mike Mallett.

Ranno Records, P.O. Box 221427, Sacramento, California 95822-8429. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: PTSD Vet Military M.I.A. P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

Also in: ▤ PTSD Songs▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#134 Danny Ratcliff Band The Wall 1986 · Single · The Wall / Missing in Action · Maximum Sound · USA

Wall, The (Danny Ratcliff Band)
Missing in Action (Danny Ratcliff Band)

Country pop, post-war, 80s. P.O.W., memorial Wall, patriotic

Missing in Action: He was 20 when his chopper went down. Buddies came home, but he's still missing
He lives in pain and fear. Country can't rest until he comes home

Wall: Soldier visits the wall - missing friends. Woman visits wall to remember her sweetheart.
All the names there - fought for their country, they answered the call

Maximum Sound Publications, Route 5, Box 141, Portsmouth, Ohio, "Take it to the Max"; Side A, "The Wall", 3:15, ASCAP; lyrics Max Sidders, music and vocals Danny Ratcliff "Band"; produced by Max Sidders and Danny Ratcliff, engineered by Joseph Ferguson; recorded at Don Brown Studios, 1830 Vinton, Portsmouth, Ohio.

Picture sleeve front prints the lyrics of "The Wall" and "Missing in Action" with the dedication: "These songs were written to honor the American soldiers whose names are on THE WALL, to express concern for those who are still MISSING IN ACTION, and to say 'Thank You' to all who served our country during the Vietnam Era." Back: Danny Ratcliff (vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, keys), Jim Hale (steel), Dave Crisp (drums), Joseph Ferguson (engineering, mix, lead guitar); a note signed by Max Sidders, publisher, that the song was suggested by his son Bob and the lyrics written on Christmas Eve 1985; thanks to the Midwestern Songwriters Association; proceeds to aid Vietnam veterans through V.V.A.

Chapter #188, Portsmouth, Ohio; A.S.C.A.P. copyright 1986; sticker with Max E. Sidders' Urbana, Ohio address. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Christmas Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#135 Danny Ratcliff Band Missing in Action 1986 · Single · The Wall / Missing in Action · Maximum Sound · USA

Annotation: see “The Wall” above (same release).

Themes: Christmas M.I.A. P.O.W. PTSD

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs▤ PTSD Songs▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#136 Sam Jacobs Behind Bamboo Tears 1986 · Single · Requiem in Black Stone / Behind Bamboo Tears · Break # 72967 · USA

Break Records 72967, stereo, side B, time 4:00; written by Sam Jacobs & Don Baba, © Requiem Music ASCAP; produced by Mark Hudson. Picture sleeve and lyric insert as on "Requiem in Black Stone". [From the record label]

Themes: P.O.W. Vet

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#137 Tom Fear & Larry Quick They Left Our Buddies (In Vietnam) 1987 · Single · They Left Our Buddies (In Vietnam) / Reflections & Suggestions · Europa # EP-10087 · USA

Credited on the record as Tom Fear, Larry Quick.

The song "They Left Our Buddies (In Vietnam)" (Europa # EP-10087), a 1980s country pop collaboration between Tom Fear and & Larry Quick, released in Noble, Illinois, USA. Produced by Jeff Gordon. The lyrics took the argument that American P.O.W.s still remained in Vietnam: "Hanoi says there's no prisoners...I say they're lying" . The narrator called on people to start a campaign, to put pressure on the politicians in order to push Vietnam to release the prisoners: "write them lots of letters" and "tell all your Congressmen" . The narrator thought that "we...vote...we're holding all the aces" . The lyrics presented the war as a fight "to keep our country free" , and therefore the US government had abandoned and betrayed the P.O.W.s This sounded similar to the plot of several 1980s Vietnam P.O.W. films, especially Uncommon Valor (1983).

Europa EP-10087, 100 1st St., Noble, IL 62868; ℗ and © 1987; Side 1 "They Left Our Buddies... [in vietnam]", 3:57; Side 2 "Reflections & Suggestions", 3:58; both Europa Music Co. (BMI), produced by Jeff Gordon, Europa Productions, credited to Tom Fear, Larry Quick. The black-and-white picture sleeve, signed Steve Jones, shows silhouetted prisoners with hands behind their heads in tall grass, a guard in a conical hat, a watchtower against a full moon and barbed wire along the bottom. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (24 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic Vet

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

#138 Tom Fear & Larry Quick Reflections & Suggestions 1987 · Single · They Left Our Buddies (In Vietnam) / Reflections & Suggestions · Europa # EP-10087 · USA

Credited on the record as Tom Fear, Larry Quick.

The song "Reflections & Suggestions" continued with the theme above, a spoken-word narration with the above song played in the background. Narrated in the first person, from the perspective of a veteran, he explained that he gladly went to fight in Vietnam in order "to protest our family...from the enemies...before they reached our shores or spread their communism" - this represented the "domino theory" - that the collapse of South Vietnam into the control of the communist north would trigger the collapse of democracy in other countries and threaten the US - the idea of which came from President Eisenhower, during a press conferences on 7 April 1954.¹ The song went on to claim that there are "2,413 Americans unaccounted for...549 were in Laos, and 82 were lost in Cambodia" , and that the government had no analysed the intelligence data available. The song concluded by warning parents that it could be their son left behind next time.

Europa EP-10087, 100 1st St., Noble, IL 62868; ℗ and © 1987; Side 1 "They Left Our Buddies... [in vietnam]", 3:57; Side 2 "Reflections & Suggestions", 3:58; both Europa Music Co. (BMI), produced by Jeff Gordon, Europa Productions, credited to Tom Fear, Larry Quick. The black-and-white picture sleeve, signed Steve Jones, shows silhouetted prisoners with hands behind their heads in tall grass, a guard in a conical hat, a watchtower against a full moon and barbed wire along the bottom. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic Vet

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

#139 Manowar Violence and Bloodshed 1987 · Album · Fighting the World · Atco # 790 563-1 · Germany

Manowar, an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam-related songs, called "Death Tone" and "Shell Shock" . The track "Violence and Bloodshed" (ATCO Records # 790 563-1) featured a typical 80s theme of going back to Vietnam to rescue American soldier left behind (either M.I.A. or P.O.W.s), also frequently seen in 1980s films like Rambo: First Blood Part II. The songs is narrated in the first person from the perspective of a vigilante in the US (possibly a Vietnam veteran): "blew it 'Nam, shot up my friends, I'm back on the street" . He pledged to defend freedom and civilization. He then told the listener that "my brother's still in Da-Nang" and that he would go "back to 'Nam 'cause no one else will" .

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: M.I.A. P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy MetalPower Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#140 Sodom Persecution Mania 1987 · Album · Steamhammer # SH 0084 · Germany

Sodom, a heavy metal band formed in 1981, in Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The group had a revolving line-up. They released a few Vietnam-related songs: "Persecution Mania" (1987) on Persecution Mania, "Agent Orange" and "Magic Dragon" (1989) on Agent Orange, "Capture the Flag" (1990) on Better Off Dead, and "Among the Weidcong" & "Napalm in the Morning" (2001) on M-16.

The song "Persecution Mania" (Steamhammer # SH 0084) looked at a mercenary who returned to Vietnam to rescue the prisoners of war (P.O.W.), as well as describing the hell of war - like the Manowar song "Violence and Bloodshed" above, this song created imagery similar to the Vietnam War film Rambo: First Blood Part II. It started with a platoon "back" in the "jungles" with the task of finding the "missing captive, locked up in contaminated camps" . The platoon encountered hostile fire, including nerve gas, but they found the prison camp and fought on in order "to do justice" for those that had died in the war. Suggested by SabbathBloodySabbath.

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#141 The Tour Welcome Home 1987 · Single · Welcome Home / People at the Top · Squadrun # R-11176-7 · USA

Welcome Home (Tour, The)

Pop rock, 1980s post-war. Illinois, USA.
Veteran / military artist.
P.O.W. / M.I.A., agent orange, and PTSD.
Bring home the P.O.W.s
Criticised lack of action from politicians.
Wanted greater respect for the veterans.

Squadrun Records R-11176, side A-1, 45 RPM, black label; "Welcome Home" (R. Laukkanen-G. Spizzirri), 3:47, all rights administered by Squadron Pub. Co. (ASCAP), ©℗ 1987 Squadron Records.

Picture sleeve front shows a photograph of the Three Servicemen statue ("Sculpture © F.E. Hart and VVMC 1984") under the title "Welcome Home".

The back prints the full lyrics over an image of the Statue of Liberty, lists side B "People At The Top", and credits Robert Laukkanen (vocal), Gary Spizzirri (guitars/vocals), Ben Spizzirri (piano), Sal Saccomanno (bass) and Jim Dattilo (drums); produced and arranged by Robert Laukkanen and Gary Spizzirri, recorded May 1987 at Studio Media, Evanston, IL, engineered by Humanstein, mastered at Mix Masters Studio, San Diego, CA, mixed by Tony Creed.

It carries the dedication "Welcome home is dedicated to all veterans of the armed forces who served, and gave their lives, in Vietnam", signed Robert Laukkanen, 101st Airborne Division, US Army 1970-1972 Vietnam. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: M.I.A. P.O.W. Patriotic

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#142 Ed Curran Three Service Men 1988 · Single · Three Service Men / Our Men in Nam · Loon Hill · USA

Post-80s double-sided Vietnam War-related record, in the pop / singer-songwriter genre, it took a patriotic perspective, dealing with P.O.W.s and the Vietnam Veterans memorial wall and statue in Washington D.C. Nothing in known yet about Ed Curran, who composed and performed both sides - record was released in Dracut, Massachusetts, USA, and the record label address (68 Loon Hill Road) appears to be a home / residence, so it is a private label, probably the home of either the artist, or the producer, Fred Vigeant.

The first song "Three Service Men" (Loon Hill Records) is the only record on here to focus on the "The Three Soldiers" (also known as the "Three Service Men" ) bronze statue, designed by Frederick Hart unveiled on Veterans Day, 11 November 1984. It is located on the National Mall, part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. It was commissioned to appease those who opposed Maya Lin's design, the Wall, with a more traditional, heroic sculpture. The three men are identifiable as European American (center), African American (right), and Latino American (left) - this is said to be the first African-American representation on the National Mall.¹ In the song, the narrator, from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran, connected the two memorials, noting that the three soldier "stare upon the Wall of sadness" . The narrator said that he "had some friends on that Wall" and he thanked "the lord that I made it back at all" . It contained anti-war sentiment, hoping in the future that "there is no new war" , and wondering "why they died at all" .The b-side song, "Our Men in Nam" dealt with the P.O.W. issue, which took the position that "there are men still over there" , a view which featured prominently in 1980s P.O.W. songs, and fitted into several war films of the period, such as First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984). The narrator noted that when he saw the black flag, he thought of the men left behind in Vietnam - this was a reference to the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, also known as the POW/MIA flag, or the POW flag, created in 1972.² The narrator said that the P.O.W.s are "going through hell" , as were their families, and that they are "brave and will survive" . Interestingly, the narrated said that the war had been over for many years and that it was time to adjust: "as a country we must move on" . Then contradictory, the narrator said that "we know there's no men over there" , but that "we will always keep searching" - providing an unclear, mixed message to the listener. The lyrics also contained references to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), often found in 1980s Vietnam War songs: "my memories are still there" . The song concluded with helicopter sound-effects.

Loon Hill Records, stereo, Side One; "Three Service Men" (Ed Curran), 3:19, BMI; produced by Fred Vigeant; ℗ 1988 Loon Hill Records, 68 Loon Hill Rd., Dracut, MA 01826. No catalogue number printed. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Anti-War Mistreatment of Vet

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#143 Ed Curran Our Men in Nam 1988 · Single · Three Service Men / Our Men in Nam · Loon Hill · USA

Annotation: see “Three Service Men” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Sound-Effects

Genre: ♪ Pop

Also in: ▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#144 Loston McEvers P.O.W. in Vietnam 1988 · Single · Abused Little Children / P.O.W. in Vietnam · Swamp Country # 4611 · USA

The country pop song "P.O.W. in Vietnam" (Swamp Country Records # 4611) by Loston McEvers is a post-war, 1980s view, in which the narrator presented a US soldier who still resided in a Vietnamese prison, two decades after the end of the war. As mentioned above, this fitted into a 1980s trend in Hollywood films to present American soldiers being held captive in Asian countries, waiting to be rescued by Vietnam veterans. For example, First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984).¹ So in the lyrics, the soldier wrote to his mother, date stamped 1988: "I'm sorry I can't be with you at home, I'm a prisoner of war in Vietnam" . He wanted to wish her happy birthday and merry "Christmas" . He reported that his friend had just died. He asked his mother and father to pray for the US soldier's "still overseas" . Unknown location. Produced and written by McEvers. There is a 2010 newspaper reference, in the Jena Times, Louisiana, to a country singer called McEvers, which may be the same person.²

Swamp Country Records, Side 2 (VPAG-4612), stereo, 45 RPM; "P.O.W. in Vietnam" (Loston McEvers), 3:22, ℗ Apr 1988 Loston McEvers, Swamp Country Rec., BMI; produced by Loston McEvers, vocal by Loston McEvers, CMA. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Laos Christmas New Year

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs

#145 Ray Valentine Hey America 1988 · Single · Dawn · USA

Hey America (Valentine, Ray)

Pop rock, post-war 80s. Prisoner of war / missing in action (P.O.W. / M.I.A.).
Helicopter sound-effects. Boy, 17, went to Vietnam. War ended.
But been held captive for 20 years. Do you remember us?
Will you set us free?

Dawn Records, turquoise label, Side A; "Hey America", 3:20, ASCAP; ℗ 1988, © 1987 Ray Gomez, P.O. Box 272876, Concord, CA 94527; produced and engineered by Richard Corsello.

The front of the picture sleeve shows a bald eagle wrapped in the Stars and Stripes, lettered "MIA/POW", beneath the title.

The back prints a photograph of Col. Charles E. Shelton, Air Force, between two POW-MIA emblems, with the line "When one American is not worth the effort to be found, we as Americans have lost", and the full lyrics.

Credits: written and sung by Ray Valentine; recorded at Bolt Studios, mastered at Fantasy Studios; lead guitar Doug Doppelt, rhythm guitar Ray Valentine, multi keyboards The Bogjuan, bass guitar Kit Newkirk, drums Dave Raffanelli, backup vocals Keith England; special thanks include Marian Shelton. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. M.I.A. Sound-Effects

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

#146 The Last Band on Earth I'm Coming Home 1988 · Single · I'm Coming Home / This Land Is Your Land · Pug · USA

I'm Coming Home

Punk rock, P.O.W., post-war 80s
15 years in a Vietcong cell, given up for dead
Starving, thinking of family everyday
But coming home to the land of the free
Suffering from PTSD

Picture sleeve states that proceeds from the record were donated. Pug Records, cream label with cartoon pug on a globe, no catalogue number; "I'm Coming Home" (Krampert), 4:54, © 1988, Wonder Pug Productions (BMI).

The front of the picture sleeve has a black-and-white ink drawing with "I'm Coming Home +" in large hand lettering and the band name lower left.

The back lists the flip side "This Land Is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie), 3:29, TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI); credits Eric Hayden for the front cover design, adds "Winslow Grumpitz – Helicopter on 'I'm Coming Home'", recording at Studio A Recording, West Chicago, IL, and engineering by Maurice Smeets; it states that "The proceeds generated by this recording are being given to: The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia", with further information from Wonder Pug Productions, P.O.

Box 1543, Elgin, IL 60120. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Coming Home Helicopter M.I.A. P.O.W. PTSD VC

Genres: ♪ PunkPunk Rock

Also in: ▤ PTSD Songs▤ Punk Songs

#147 Anh Quang Le You Are the Heroes 1988 · Single · You Are the Heroes / Bring Them Home · AMC · USA

Post-war 80 patriotic pop, P.O.W.s

Themes: P.O.W. Vietnamese Perspective Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Pop

#148 Anh Quang Le Bring Them Home 1988 · Single · You Are the Heroes / Bring Them Home · AMC · USA

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Pop

#149 Al Meckel Shame Shame Jane 1988 · Single · Shame Shame Jane / He's a Vet · Peermont # PR-1016 · USA

- country pop, patriotic
- A-side: anti-Jane Fonda
- During Vietnam, you took the enemies side
- Bring back the M.I.A. / P.O.W.s
- Love it or Leave it slogan
- B-side: tribute to the veterans
- Served in Vietnam with no regrets, Korea too
- Got a medal, the Purple Heart
- Ronald Reagan brought back our pride
- Now we're going after Ghaddafy

- Peermont PR-1016, silver-grey label; "Shame Shame Jane" (Al Meckel), 2:15, BMI (VPAG-4668); "He's a Vet." (Al Meckel), 3:25, BMI (VPAG-4669); both Peermont Pub., produced by Robin Vosbury. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Jane Fonda P.O.W. M.I.A. Love It or Leave It

Genre: ♪ Country

#150 Al Meckel He's a Vet 1988 · Single · Shame Shame Jane / He's a Vet · Peermont # PR-1016 · USA

Annotation: see “Shame Shame Jane” above (same release).

Themes: Patriotic Korea Medals Purple Heart Reagan Gaddafi

Genre: ♪ Country

#151 White Pigs A.P.O.W. 1989 · EP · Hit Bonanza · Super Seven # SS7 ep 226 · USA

Hardcore Punk group White Pigs, which formed in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, in 1980. The song "A.P.O.W." (SS7 ep 226) - standing for American Prisoners of War, is a P.O.W. song. It started with a military cadence, "Johnny said he was your friend, now he's got your girlfriend in bed" , and then it moved straight into a high speed guitar rhythm, only broken toward the end of the song, to play a distorted version of the American anthem. The lyrics told of "Johnny going to Vietnam" , who is then captured by the Viet Cong. The final verse said that "another US soldier dead" .

Superseven SS7 ep 226, "Hit Bonanza", 33 speed, red vinyl, Doug Moody Productions, P.O. Box 1596, San Marcos, CA 92069; all songs White Pigs, c/o Doug Moody Music/BMI, ©DM℗ 1989. This side: "Boss", "Victims", "Kill a Cop", "A.P.O.W."; other side: "Ghosts", "R.I.P.", "White Pigs Theme", "Proving Ground".

The front sleeve is a stippled ink drawing of a snarling pig-faced punk with an inverted-cross earring and studded collar, skulls in its eyes.

The back sleeve gives the band's address as P.O. Box 18152, East Hartford, CT 06118, a group photograph, and credits: produced by Ted Rudzis & White Pigs; Brian Rip Throat (vocals), Rock God Earl E. Grave and Eddie Porter (bass), George Butterrick and Pete Clark (drums), Chuck Duncan and Steve Bertrand (guitars); layout by Phillip Raves; European contact Mystic/Semaphore, Schagen, the Netherlands. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ PunkHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

#152 Alice & Albert Mother's POW Prayer 1989 · Single · Mother's POW Prayer / M. I. A. · Wild Wood # WWM-44-8874 · USA

Mother's POW Prayer (Alice & Albert)

1980s pop. Patriotic.
M.I.A. / prisoner of war theme.
Plea to US government to rescue the P.O.W.s of Vietnam.

"This is a mother's P.O.W. prayer, going up to heaven for our boys out there
Lord please keep them safe from harm and bring them home from Vietnam
This is a mother's P.O.W. prayer, dear lord I pray don't forget my son
Its been a long time since the day they gave him a gun, he fought for god and country
When they sent him overseas to protect our way of life and to preserver our liberty
By now you wonder did his wife find another man
He had to leave his little boy when he left for Vietnam
I wish he had his picture cause his children are all grown
And daddy's little girl has a little girl of her own
He's out there in the jungle, my prayer will bring him home
He's not the only one feeling lost and all alone
All his brothers in the jungle living in this fear
Hope you're listening lord, can't you bring them all back here
This is a mother's P.O.W. prayer, going up to heaven for our boys out there
Lord please keep them safe from harm and bring them home from Vietnam
Some think the war has ended, soldier's work is never done
They're still fighting a battle in a war that no one won
If they had to do it all over they gladly go again
Fight to save our freedom till the very end
So won't you try to help them, lord they spend their time in hell
You know they still love you though sometimes it's hard to tell
I know you are busy lord, there ain't much more to say
But please lord remember our boys on judgement day...
P.S. lord, keep America free, amen"

Wild Wood Records WWM-44-8874 (U-24824), Side A, white label, © 1988; "Mother's POW Prayer" (W.L. Osnoe-A. K. Williams-A. Stone), 3:54; produced by Wayne L. Osnoe, engineered by Richard Chisum; "Distributed by Wild Wood Musik 17 Pleasant St. Topsham, Maine 04086/ Mastered May 8th 1989 Nashville TN". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Pop

#153 Rick Tucker Somebody's Lying 1989 · Single · Bradley Brothers # B.B. 7789 · USA

Somebody's Lying (Tucker, Rick)

Country. Post-war 80s.
P.O.W. / M.I.A.

Bradley Brothers Records & Tapes B.B. 7789 A, "Los Angeles/Tacoma", Box 2144, Winnetka, CA 91306 and Box 25, Puyallup, Washington 98372; "Somebody's Lying" (Don Bradley), 3:22, Darren Music Co., ASCAP, © & ℗ 1989; produced by Don Bradley & Hal Bradley; the label is "Dedicated to all the P.O.W.'s & the M.I.A.'s from all the wars."

The picture sleeve front is headed "Life under the Viet Cong: Rice...Monkey...Dog & Bear Meat... In a Bamboo Prison Cell!!" over a drawing of a prisoner behind bamboo bars.

The back prints the song's opening lines and statements from two former prisoners of war: Lloyd J Hill ("former P.O.W. 43 mos."), who was reported dead to his parents while in prison camp and believes some are still held in camps for labour, and Vernon Devitt ("former P.O.W. 16 mos."), who says the song "gets right to the heart of the matter". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic K.I.A. Hanoi Anti-Government

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

#154 Pat Murphy Prisoner of War 1990 · Single · Prisoner of War / A Litte Guy Called Joe · Orbit # OR-2507 · USA

The song "Prisoner of War" (Orbit # OR-2507), a post-war country track that looked at the P.O.W. issue. The front cover of the picture sleeve said: "a tribute to all Ex-POW's as recorded by Pat Murphy, US Army Special Forces Vietnam (1968-71)".¹ The back of the picture sleeve claimed: "Murphy spent a short time as a POW in Vietnam, but the former Green Beret admits it was the most terrible experience of his life. It ended 15 years of military service in the US army...for each order we will donate one dollar to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Fund" - unable to verify any of this information.² Is this the same Patrick Murphy who falsely claimed to be a P.O.W.?³ Wayne "Slim" Caddell originally wrote the song, while in P.O.W. Camp # 3 during the Korean War. The song subsequently spread. Narrated from the perspective of a prisoner, the soldier described how he missed home life, spending time with his wife and baby boy: "I think about the day we'll sit at home lovingly and watch our baby play" . The prisoner took comfort in having "a piece of our flag" in his battered bag, so a small patriotic reference. Released in Nashville, Tennessee. Produced by Ray McGinnis and Frank Jeter. Note that Murphy also released the 1987 single "Combat Vet" (OL Records Inc. # OLR-45-123) about Vietnam.

Orbit OR-2507 (U-26494), stereo, Side One, ℗ 1990 Orbit Records, distributed by Orbit Records, P.O. Box 120675, Nashville, Tn. 37212; "Prisoner of War", 3:13, Nautical Music Co. (BMI); produced by Ray McGinnis and Frank Jeter.

The picture sleeve front, headed The "Prisoner of War" Song, "A Tribute to All Ex-POW's", shows a photograph of Pat Murphy in fatigues, credited "U.S. Army Special Forces, Vietnam (1968-71)", produced by Ray McGinnis & Frank Jeter, "Ex-Korean POW's", and is inscribed in ink "No more war".

The back lists Side 1 "Prisoner of War" (Wayne Caddell Sr.) and Side 2 "A Little Guy Called Joe" (M. Wilkins, M. Walker), with a photograph of Murphy in a beret; its notes say the song was first written and recorded by Wayne "Slim" Caddell, composed while a POW in Camp #3 during the Korean War, and released on Orbit in May 1984, and that this re-release by two former POWs raised funds for the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., with one dollar per order donated to the memorial fund. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Theme: P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#155 Pat Murphy A Little Guy Called Joe 1990 · Single · Prisoner of War / A Litte Guy Called Joe · Orbit # OR-2507 · USA

Annotation: see “Prisoner of War” above (same release).

Theme: Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

#156 The Moody Brothers Welcome Home Soldier 1990 · Single · Lamon # LR 10234 · USA

Welcome Home Soldier (Moody Brothers, The)

Post-war 90s, pop. Mistreatment of vet. P.O.W., patriotic
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Praise to the vets - we carried peace signs to bring you home 20 years ago (Vietnam)
But you felt neglected when you came back home
Reference to the TV war, yellow ribbons (P.O.W.s)
Current war - Gulf War - worth fighting for.

Lamon Records LR 10234-7 (U-29789), "Founded 1962", manufactured by Lamon Records, a subsidiary of Moody Music Group Inc., P.O. Box 25371, Charlotte, NC 28229, ℗© 1990. Both sides carry "Welcome Home Soldier" (lyrics Lynn Payne, music Carlton Moody/David Moody), 3:55, Laymond Pub. Co., Inc., BMI, produced by the Moody Brothers for CDT Productions, engineer David Moody: side A with a "Pledge of Allegience" tag and side B with a 30-second "Local Soldier" tag.

The picture sleeve prints the full lyrics over a faint flag image. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Demonstration Pro-Soldier TV War Mistreatment of Vet First Gulf War Yellow Ribbon

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#157 Geto Boys Fuck a War 1991 · Album · We Can't Be Stopped · Rap-A-Lot # 4XL 57161 · USA

Credited on the record as Ghetto Boys.

Southern Hip Hop & Gangsta Rap group, formed in 1986 in Houston, Texas, USA. The song "Fuck a War" is one of dozens of 90s songs inspired by the First Gulf War (1990-91), also referred to as Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the names of US operations against Iraq, directed by the US president George H. W. Bush. The track begins with a phone call, informing the MC that he's been drafted to fight in the First Gulf War. The lyrics then outline his opposition to the conflict, arguing that the conflict is a waste of time. Furthermore, it contained an argument often seen in 60s / 70s Vietnam War songs, and highlighted by Martin Luther King Jr. in his opposition to the war - which is why should African Americans fight for the country when they do not receive equal rights at home, thus containing a Civil Rights message: "they puttin' niggas on the front line, but when it comes to gettin' ahead, they put us way behind" , and thus they declared: "yo, Bush! I ain't your damn ho" . The narrator then used Vietnam as a reference point for comparison: "in Vietnam a lot of niggas died young" . It also noted the Prisoner of War issue: "P.O.W.'s got hung" .

Show full lyrics (34 lines) ▾

Themes: First Gulf War Iraq George H. Bush Grenade P.O.W. Medals

Genres: ♪ Hip HopSouthern Hip HopGangsta Rap

Also in: ▤ Civil Rights Songs▤ Draft Songs▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#158 Out of Darkness Savior 1991 · Demo · Demo · Not On Label · USA

"Savior"

Show full lyrics (36 lines) ▾

Theme: Themes Pending

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#159 1st Lt. Bobby Ross Daddy's Red Ribbons 1991 · Single · ESR # ESR 002 · USA

- Country, military, Vietnam veteran
- "dedicated to all P.O.W./M.I.A. abandoned by the government of the United States of America in WWII, Korea and Vietnam"
- Narrators father captured during the war
- Could still be alive in one of the camps

- ESR 002 (U-30396M), A side, gold label with POW★MIA "You Are Not Forgotten" emblem and ESR mountain logo; "Daddy's Red Ribbons" (CSM John R. Holland-US Army Ret./Bobby Ross), 3:32, © Echo Summit Music, BMI; 1st Lt. Bobby Ross (Ret. 101st Airborne, USA); produced by Bobby Ross, engineer Ed Simonton.

The label states: "This material was written, produced, & performed by Vietnam Veterans and dedicated to all POW/MIA's abandoned by the government of the United States of America in WW II, Korea & Vietnam." Rim text: "(615) 244-8725 • Echo Summit Records • 11 Music Sq. E. • Nashville, TN 37203." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. WW2 Korea Military

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#160 Jewel The Vietnam Requiem 1991 · Album · Revolution in Heaven · Classic Trash # CTRCD 9101 · Netherlands

Heavy Metal band, formed in 1986, Haarlem, Netherlands, and disbanded in 1992, shortly after this, their only album. The final song "The Vietnam Requiem" was split into eight parts, which included documentary clips, included quoting Lyndon B. Johnson, US president (1962-1968). It referenced many well-known themes and episodes, including combat conditions, search and destroy, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai massacre, missing in action (M.I.A.), killed in action (K.I.A.), medals (the Purple Heart and Silver Star), and the treatment and impact on the veteran. Sections 1-6 focused on the combat zone: "Hueys sliding up to combat zone... lock and load and on patrol" .

Sections 7-8 focused on the post-war negative impact of the war, on those that fought: "it’s all over now...our youth was blown away" . It also contained descriptions of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - frequently referenced in post-war 1980s songs about US veterans, often connected in songs to stress, shell shock, flashbacks, nostalgia, and feelings and dreams related to an event: "it left scars in their minds... back home, still in the jungle"

The veteran also recalled various place names, familiar sayings, and infamous events: "Khe Sanh, My lai, didi mow" - Khe Sanh was a reference to an area of Vietnam that played a critical role in the war, including The Battle of Khe Sanh, and the US Khe Sanh Combat Base - the city and province are frequently referenced in song, most famously by Australian band Cold Chisel, with the song "Khe Sanh" (1978). My Lai was a reference to the massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968. "Didi mow" - this was a phrase adopted by US military personnel during the Vietnam War, from the Vietnamese "đi đi mau" ("get lost") - popularised in the movie The Deer Hunter (1978).¹ The song concluded with another reference to a Vietnam War film - Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - once again showing the huge impact of films on culture.

Show full lyrics (56 lines) ▾

Themes: Combat Search & Destroy Tet Offensive My Lai M.I.A. K.I.A.

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs▤ My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs▤ PTSD Songs

#161 Tom Booker Missing in Action 1992 · Single · Country Star # CS-1124 · USA

Credited on the record as Tom Booker (Tennessee Tom).

Missing in Action (Booker, Tom)

P.O.W., patriotic. Soldier & home front perspective. Christmas reference
Goodlettsville, Tennessee, USA. Post-war 90s.
I'm off to fight a war - not sure why. Kissed family goodbye
She won't rest until I'm back.
Back I'm M.I.A. in South Vietnam - alive or dead, return me.
Proud to serve our nation.
They made us sign confessions and look happy on Christmas day.
It's been so many years since I've seen my daughter

Country Star Records CS-1124-A (U-33415M), 45 RPM, stereo, ℗ 1992; "Missing in Action" (Len M. Marshall), 4:15, Process Music-BMI; Tom Booker (Tennessee Tom), backup Jean Rowe & Michael A. Collins; producer Josh Noland; Country Star International, P.O. Box 993, Goodlettsville, TN 37070. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: M.I.A. P.O.W. Patriotic Christmas

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs

#162 Los Pies Negros Prisionero del VietCong 1993 · Album · Los Pies Negros · Fuera de Orden # 003 · Puerto Rico

Ska band, formed in 1991 in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. They released the song "Prisionero del VietCong" (Fuera De Orden Records ‎# 003) about a US Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) in North Vietnam, from the prisoner's perspective, who thinks that he "will not see the sun anymore". The narrator noted that "you have been tortured", and the prisoner is "in search of freedom".&

Fuera de Orden Rekords F.D.O. 003, cassette, "Los Pies Negros"; Side A track 5: "Prisionero de Viet Com" (no writer credits printed); Fuera de Orden Rekords, P.O. Box 1333, Hatillo, P.R. 00659; "Todos los derechos reservados". Line-up: Juan "Paito" Rivera (vocals, guitar), Wilmer "Wimbo" Laboy del Toro (guitar), Werner "Gugui" Rodríguez del Toro (bass), Lester Irrizarry (drums), Alexis Matos (keyboard). [From the cassette inlay and Discogs]

Show full lyrics (25 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. VC

Genres: ♪ ReggaeSka

Also in: ▤ Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music▤ Puerto Rican Songs

#163 Biohazard Remember 1994 · Album · State Of the World Address · Warner Bros. # 9 45595-2 · USA

Biohazard, an American New York Hardcore band, which incorporated elements of Rap Metal and Crossover Thrash, formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 1987. The album State of the World Address featured Billy Graziadei (guitar, vocals), Evan Seinfeld (bass, vocals), Bobby Hambel (guitar), and Danny Schuler (drums).

The song "Remember" (Warner Bros. Records # 9 45595-2) released in 1994, referenced issues that frequently appeared in the post-war era (especially in the 1980s). Firstly, it sought to overcome the Vietnam syndrome. As suggested in the title, the narrated wanted people to remember those who "served in Vietnam" . He declared that "from our generation to you...respect is long overdue" to the Vietnam veterans. Secondly, the lyrics looked at the treatment of veterans back in the US: "they spit on you now, we'll spit back for you" . Thirdly, it turned to the psychological impact of war on the veterans - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - "explosions shake the dreams in your head at night in bed...he still sees blood...try to numb the pain" . Finally, the song also referenced prisoners of war, suggesting that they could still be in Vietnam, and that they have sadly missed out on their children growing up: "P.O.W-M.I.A., your kids are now full grown, with the love and pride you should have known" .

Show full lyrics (42 lines) ▾

Themes: PTSD Vet P.O.W. M.I.A. Spitting Image

Genres: ♪ MetalHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs▤ PTSD Songs▤ Punk Songs

#164 Anarcho-Acoustico Free The P.O.W.'s 1999 · Compilation · We Will Not Obey · Achieve # ACH002 · USA

- Massacre at My Lai in a Classroom (JxTx) (aka Jorge Anthony Tapia)
- Free The P.O.W.'s (Anarcho-Acoustico)
- Acoustic punk

Theme: P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Punk

Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

#165 Paul Revere & The Raiders Ride to the Wall 2001 · Album · Rhino # RWF 1005 · USA

Post-2000s rock album, which featured an image of a soldier in Vietnam on the front cover, and which said that it was "dedicated to all the men and women who served in the Vietnam War". Released by the famous group Paul Revere & The Raiders, formed in 1958, Boise, Idaho, USA, originally led by Paul Revere (from 1958, until his death in 2014), but with a revolving line-up. Revere was born 7 January 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska, USA, and died 4 October 2014, in Garden Valley, Idaho, USA.

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Rock

Also in: ▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#166 Paul Revere & The Raiders Rolling Thunder 2001 · Album · Ride to the Wall · Rhino # RWF 1005 · USA

The theme of the album was "Rolling Thunder" , an organisation seeking accountability for prisoners of war (P.O.W.s) and missing in action (M.I.A.). Since 1987, Rolling Thunder held The First Amendment Demonstration Run, formerly called "Rolling Thunder Run to the Wall", a motorcycle rally on Memorial Sunday, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. There were an estimated 500,000 bikers for the Rolling Thunder ride to the National Mall in 2018.¹² The title song "Ride to the Wall" , was a patriotic tribute, which called the bikers the "Vietnam tribe" , heading towards the memorial, from coast to coast. It paid tribute to the "veterans living and dead" .The other song, "Rolling Thunder" is of course a direct reference to the motorcycle run on Memorial Sunday, which said that they would "be heard throughout the land" and that they were taking a "stand, to honor fallen heroes" . The song described combat conditions, from the jungle to the DMZ, fighting the enemy in the dark. The narrated said that "our prisoners" were "tortured" . The narrator also referenced the Tet Offensive, described as an event that some soldiers survived - this was a campaign launched by the North Vietnamese army and the VC on South Vietnam, on the Vietnamese New Year, 30 January 1968. It is viewed by historians as a watershed moment, feeding into the US "credibility gap", and providing support to those who wanted to end the war. Another interesting reference is the line that veterans were "spit on by the people who stood against the war" - this is the famous "spitting image", although no actual incidents have been documented, and this is considered to be a myth.³⁴ Also note that the narrator criticised politicians, saying that they used the veterans.

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Mistreatment of Vet Spitting Image DMZ Tet Offensive P.O.W.

Genre: ♪ Rock

Also in: ▤ Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

#167 War Plague P.O.W.M.I.A. 2003 · EP · Government Issued Murder · Pagan Flames # PFEP 002 · USA

Thrash Metal group War Plague, formed in 2002 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. Its members were: Markymetal (vocals, guitar), Bazooka Joe (vocals, guitar), and Tripwire (vocals, drums). The song "P.O.W.M.I.A." (Pagan Flames Productions # PFEP 002) propagated the myth that many US soldiers remained in Vietnam as P.O.W.s, as seen in a spate of early 80s films, such as First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984), and represented in dozens of songs in the post-war period, containing the line: "an end to America's involvement in Vietnam cannot come before we have achieved the fullest possible accounting of those missing in action" .

Pagan Flames Productions, PO Box 11653, Cedar Rapids, IA 52410-1653, "2006 Pagan Flames Productions"; sides titled "Side War" ("One Mission (To Kill, Combat, and Destroy)", "Advance", "Feeding Worms") and "Side Plague" ("P.O.W.M.I.A.", "War Head", and the bonus track "And War Did Rage", demo version, written by Joe Robidoux); plain white labels with the War Plague crosshair logo.

"All songs written recorded and produced by Mark", mastered at Ultrasound 2002-2003, cover art by Mark, layout by Syntax Imagery; contact [email protected].

The front cover painting shows a helmeted skeleton riding a shark-mouthed fighter plane, gripping two pentagram-marked bombs, over a burning landscape; the back prints all the lyrics beside a drawing of a sniper, with the slogan "This is cold violent noise". The "P.O.W.M.I.A." lyric quotes "An end to America's involvement in Vietnam cannot come before we have achieved the fullest possible accounting of those missing in action." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#168 Brian May Airstrip and Main Titles 2008 · Soundtrack · Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · Intrada # Special Collection Volume 76 · USA

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicFilm Score

#169 The Reel Banditos Narration: Back in the World / The Fall of Saigon 2008 · Album · Indochina · Not On Label · Germany

Themes: Cambodia M.I.A. Vet Drugs Fall of Saigon

Genres: ♪ ElectronicTrip-Hop

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#170 Jay Chattaway Main Title ("Missing in Action") 2009 · Soundtrack · Braddock: Missing in Action III (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · Intrada # Special Collection Volume 93 · USA

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicFilm Score

#171 James Horner Vietnamese Solo / Main Title 2010 · Soundtrack · Uncommon Valor (Music From The Motion Picture) · Intrada # Special Collection Volume 142 · USA

Film soundtrack

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicFilm Score

#172 Moving Finger P.O.W. / M.I.A. 2013 · EP · Smokin the Crack of Dawn · Goner # 102 GONE · USA

Moving Finger, a punk band formed in 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee, by J.B. Horrell (member of the garage punk band Ex-Cult), and featuring his wife Laurel Horrell (drums) and Patrick Glass (bass).¹ This album included the short, 49 second song "P.O.W. / M.I.A." (Goner Records # 102 GONE), containing one verse and chorus, repeated twice, which asked Uncle Sam to "find my brother...all alone in prison" in "crazy Vietnam" . Thus, this returned to the 1970s/80s trend of suggesting that prisoners of war remain in Vietnam and that the government needed to do more to bring them home.

Goner Records; white label with a line drawing of a hand and "45 l.s.d."; black-bordered white sleeve with the band name and a skull-and-arrows emblem. The back lists Side A "Smokin the Crack of Dawn" and "P.O.W. / M.I.A", Side B "Tres Dolares"; Side A recorded by Keith Cooper at the Burgundy Ballroom, Side B recorded by Andrew McCalla. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-Government M.I.A. P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ PunkGarage Punk

Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

#173 Sid Orr MIA Song I'll Be Right Back 2013 · Album · Vietnam: The Journey · Not On Label · USA

Sid Orr - he joined the marines in 1966 after high school, and served in the Vietnam War, with the Marine Helicopter Squadron (HMM-362) Ugly Angels at Phu Bai, Vietnam from 1969-1970. He currently lives in Woodstock, Georgia, USA. He is also in a group called The Tunnel Rats.¹ He released this 2013 album of patriotic country songs about the Vietnam War. It included the song "As Long as That Black Granite Stands" about the memorial wall. This one took a religious perspective, focusing on a chaplain in combat in Vietnam, K.I.A.: "he grabbed his chest, his life flashed there in the water and the blood" .

Themes: Military Soldier's Perspective Ho Chi Minh Trail M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ CountryFolk

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#174 Space Eater P.O.W. 2014 · Album · Passing Through the Fire to Molech · Pure Steel # PSRCD088 · Serbia

Metal. Daisy Cutter. May be other songs on the album, such as P.O.W.

Show full lyrics (24 lines) ▾

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#175 Kjøttkvern Hendelse 2020 · Album · Vietnam · Scars of Eternity # SOER-075 · Russia

Themes: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Cold War Anti-Communism Navy

Genres: ♪ MetalBlack Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#176 Kjøttkvern Torturerer 2020 · Album · Vietnam · Scars of Eternity # SOER-075 · Russia

Annotation: see “Hendelse” above (same release).

Themes: P.O.W. VC

Genres: ♪ MetalBlack Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#177 Just Before Dawn Mac V Sog 2023 · EP · Battle-Sight Zeroing · Into It # IIR 067 · Sweden

Death Metal group formed in 2012, its members included Anders Biazzi (guitar, bass), Brynjar Helgetun (drums), and Jonny Pettersson (guitar, vocals). The group is based in Stockholm, Sweden.¹. They released this Vietnam-themed EP, with six relevant tracks (Into It Records # IIR 067). The track "Mac V Sog" dealt with the P.O.W. issue, describing a rescue attempt, similar to many Vietnam War films in the 80s: "Yankee dying breed, prisoners of Viet Cong, desperate to be freed" .

Show full lyrics (31 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. VC Jungle

Genres: ♪ MetalDeath Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#178 Slasher Dave Vietnam Summer 2023 · EP · Bellyache # BR-076 · USA

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ MetalTraditional Doom MetalPsychedelic Rock

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#179 Johnny Price Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s Single · Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s / Santa, Bring Daddy for Christmas · Priceless # PR-708 · USA

The song "Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s" (Priceless # PR-708) by Johnny Price, a country singer based in Nashville, Tennessee, who sounded very similar to Johnny Cash, as suggested in the artist name. A familiar commercial technique, as seen with the country artist Johnny Paycheck. Johnny Price released the song "The Lieutenant's Last Salute" (Rexell # 45-106) in 1971 about the My Lai massacre. The narrator of the song showed concern for the plight of the P.O.W.s, refusing to celebrate the end of the war with marches and beating drums "until we bring back our prisoners of war" . It pointed out that many families faced uncertainty about the status of their loved ones - whether, M.I.A., P.O.W., or K.I.A. According to the The Sumter Daily, South Carolina, Price wrote the song in support of Sandy Bagley, the wife of P.O.W. Major Bobby Ray Bagley, captured in North Vietnam on 16 September 1967, and released on 14 March 1973.¹. The article said that "Johnny Price...is ready to release his own recording to help her cause, The Ballad of the POW".² She released the 1972 single "POWMIA", as well as co-writing the b-side of this single.

Priceless PR-708, white-and-red label, P.O. Box 1391, Nashville, Tenn.; "Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s" (J. Price), SON 100131, time 3:07, and "Santa, Bring Daddy for Christmas" (S. Bagley - J. Price), SON 100132, time 3:07, Johnny Price with Marty Lizabeth; both Priceless Music, BMI, producer J. Price. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Christmas Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#180 Johnny Price Santa, Bring Daddy for Christmas Single · Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s / Santa, Bring Daddy for Christmas · Priceless # PR-708 · USA

Credited on the record as Johnny Price with Marty Lizabeth.

On the b-side of this single, the song "Santa Bring My Daddy for Christmas" dealt with the Vietnam War, Christmas, and the P.O.W. theme. A spoken-word track, it is split into two narratives. The first one, narrated by the female vocalist Marty Lizabeth, recalled seeing a boy at a shopping mall asking Santa to bring home his father from Vietnam. He explained: "my daddy is a prisoner of war" . In the second narration by Johnny Price, the boy's father (the soldier) spoke from Vietnam, saying that Santa may be too busy to get him home in time for Christmas, although "dreams do come true" . Composed by Sandy Bagley and Johnny Price.

Priceless PR-708, white-and-red label, P.O. Box 1391, Nashville, Tenn.; "Ballad of Our P.O.W.'s" (J. Price), SON 100131, time 3:07, and "Santa, Bring Daddy for Christmas" (S. Bagley - J. Price), SON 100132, time 3:07, Johnny Price with Marty Lizabeth; both Priceless Music, BMI, producer J. Price. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (33 lines) ▾

Themes: Christmas P.O.W. Home Front Perspective

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Christmas Songs▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#181 Brenda Gail Foss Where There'll Be No Vietnam Single · Where There'll Be No Vietnam / There Is Nothing Like the Love of God · New Hope · USA

The country track "There There'll Be No Vietnam" (New Hope Records), written by Mrs. S. H. Brackins, featured the child singer Brenda Gail Foss. This song reflected on how a M.I.A. soldier caused uncertainly for a soldier's family, and in this case, on a child. She started by explaining that her father served in the US army: "he is fighting for our country over there in Vietnam" . He frequently wrote a letter to his daughter and she and her mother prayed for his safe return home. However, she recalled receiving a letter from the army, with the information that her "dad was missing over there in Vietnam" (in other word, 'missing in action' - M.I.A.) The army later informed the family that he had in fact been killed in action (K.I.A.). As Brenda Gail Foss explained, "he has gone to heaven" , and so away from the Vietnam War, which explained the title of the song. Unknown date and location.

New Hope Records, RT #3, Johnson City, Tenn.; Side 2, 45 RPM; "Where There'll Be No Vietnam" (Brenda Gail Foss); label also prints "Brenda Gail Foss, Rt. 5 Johnson City Tenn." and "Author Mrs. S. H. Brackins; Acc. Joe Foss, Chas. Murr, Kenneth Brackins". No catalogue number or time printed. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Patriotic Child M.I.A. K.I.A.

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Children on Record▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#182 Marilyn Gould More Than Being Lonesome Single · More Than Being Lonesome / Prayer From a P.O.W. · P.O.W. # 101 · USA

A double-side Vietnam War single, in the country music genre, which looked at the prisoner of war / missing in action situation. The a-side addressed the perspective of a P.O.W.'s wife / girlfriend, while the b-side provided the perspective of the P.O.W., both narrated in the first person. Maureen Smith composed the songs. Produced by Scotty's studio, unknown location and date. Publisher: Golden Boy Music. In the first track "More Than Being Lonesome" (P.O.W. # 101) Marilyn Gould sung about the difficulty of not knowing when "your man is M.I.A." She wondered if he had been taken captive or if he had died. As the title suggested, while she felt loneliness and pain, the not knowing added another element which "tears you apart" .

P.O.W. Records, yellow label; A-side P.O.W.-101A (ARP-1723) "More Than Being Lonesome" (Larry Thomas-Judy Thomas-Maureen Smith), Country Stream Music—BMI, 3:03; B-side P.O.W.-101B (ARP-1724) "Prayer From a P.O.W." (Maureen Smith), Golden Boy Music—BMI, 1:50; both produced by Scotty's Studio. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#183 Marilyn Gould Prayer From a P.O.W. Single · More Than Being Lonesome / Prayer From a P.O.W. · P.O.W. # 101 · USA

The b-side song "Prayer From a P.O.W." provided the P.O.W.'s view - it is credited to Marilyn Gould as above, but it is actually an unknown male vocalist. This track, like many others, chose to present the terrible conditions that the prisoners may have been experiencing. This is done through the form a prisoner's prayer to god. The prisoner described his situation, in which he had lost track of time. Being held captive for eight years had started to take a physical toll on him: "my wound still hurts...my vision is blurred...teeth are rotting" . He had given up asking for decent food or medication, while in his mind he had moved on from anger and indignation, yet he still could not find peace. He wanted his "family's voices to fill my silent nights" . He asked for god to look over his family for him.

P.O.W. Records, yellow label; A-side P.O.W.-101A (ARP-1723) "More Than Being Lonesome" (Larry Thomas-Judy Thomas-Maureen Smith), Country Stream Music—BMI, 3:03; B-side P.O.W.-101B (ARP-1724) "Prayer From a P.O.W." (Maureen Smith), Golden Boy Music—BMI, 1:50; both produced by Scotty's Studio. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#184 Hoyt Scoggins Prisoner of Vietnam Single · Prisoner of Vietnam / Soldiers Prayer · Gaye # 3037 · USA

Hoyt Scoggins ("Rev. William Hoyt Scoggins") - born 9 January 1926 in Lafayette, Georgia, he started his recording career in the 1950s, writing and playing country music. He held, along with his wife Jessie Mae, several pastorates in churches across North Georgia, including his last known location in Rome, Georgia.¹²³ His two sons served in the Vietnam War, Robert Dolan Scoggins and Ty Scoggins.⁴ This single, from Atlanta, Georgia, probably released in the early 1970s, contained two Vietnam-related tracks, both of which contained strong religious elements. The first song "Prisoner of Vietnam" (Gaye Records # 3037) addressed the P.O.W. issue. Narrated in the first person from the perspective of a soldier "captured by the guerrillas" , he described how his captors tortured and tried to brainwash him. But he told the listener that with the help of god he resisted "their ways" . He then said that the North Vietnamese "beheaded my buddy" (Note: there were a few cases of people being beheaded during the war). The soldier managed to escape the prison, hiding in the jungle and foxholes. The second song on the single "Soldier's Prayer" told the story of a US army captain who overheard one of his men singing a prayer to god. That song also viewed the war as a fight for freedom. In 1968 he recorded the song "Returned Package From Vietnam" (Starday Records # 5479).⁵

Gaye Records, yellow label, P.O. Box 13612 Station K, Atlanta, Ga.; Record No. 3037-1 "Prisoner of Vietnam" (Hoyt Scoggins), time 2:00, and Record No. 3037-2 "Soldiers Prayer" (Hoyt Scoggins), time 2:31, both Margie Music, BMI, "A Gaye Talent Production". The "Soldiers Prayer" label is signed in ink by Hoyt Scoggins. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. VC Patriotic Religion Green Beret Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#185 Hoyt Scoggins Soldiers Prayer Single · Prisoner of Vietnam / Soldiers Prayer · Gaye # 3037 · USA

Annotation: see “Prisoner of Vietnam” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Patriotic Religion Soldier's Perspective Foxhole Anti-War

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#186 The Blue Grass P.O.W. - Part I Single · P.O.W. - Part I / P.O.W. - Part II · B.N.M. # 2 · USA

A double-sided funk track released in the early 1970s, distributed by Burke Records, 1013 Rutland Road, Brooklyn, New York. The two tracks "P.O.W. - Part I & Part II" (B.N.W. Records # 002) were largely instrumental, apart from someone shouting out "a prisoner of war, oh no, prisoner of war, not going to stop a good time, baby, baby" . Arranged and produced by G. Adams, R. Frater, and C. Moses. Performing Rights: BMI.

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkFunk

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#187 The Blue Grass P.O.W. - Part II Single · P.O.W. - Part I / P.O.W. - Part II · B.N.M. # 2 · USA

Annotation: see “P.O.W. - Part I” above (same release).

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkFunk

Also in: ▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#188 Wally Willette Voice of a P.O.W. Single · Voice of a P.O.W. / Blue Broken Heart · TIM # 107 · USA

The song "Voice of a P.O.W." (TIM # 107) by Wally Willette - he founded the label in 1964 (also known as Tops in Music), based in Pensacola, Florida. Distributed by Sounds of Nashville.¹ The single is undated, but probably released during the war years. Fitting into the country music genre, Willette narrated the song from the perspective of a US P.O.W., who told the listener of the terrible conditions he suffered in prison and the mental and physical impact it had: "just a shell of a man, half alive, half dead...my mind is bent, my legs are getting weak" . He said that the North Vietnamese "march me through the streets, they call me dirty names" . So he pleaded with the people in the US not to forget about him and the other P.O.W.s. Written by Doug Zepp. Arranged by Know Phillips.

TIM ("Tops in Music") 107-A (SON 97522), 45 RPM; "Voice of a P.O.W." (Doug Zepp), 2:10, Knox Music, Inc., BMI; produced and arranged by Knox Phillips. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Patriotic Spitting Image

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#189 Mike Thomas The Prisoner of War Song Single · The Prisoner of War Song / What Do You Say Baby Beautiful Joyce · Tin Pan Alley # TPA 71-555 · USA

The song "The Prisoner of War Song" (Tin Pan Alley # TPA 71-555), released around 1967-68 based on the label numbering, fitted into the song-poem category - song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recording companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400).¹ Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War. Jack Covais founded this label, based in New York at the time of recording (it later moved to Florida).² Musically, this had a garage rock feel to it. Thomas started out narrating from the perspective of a soldier's father, who prayed that god would "bring our sons back from that war" . Then Thomas switched to the perspective of a soldier, held captive, who prayed to "the lord, that I will escape" - presumably from a prison in Vietnam, although it's not mentioned. Written by Richard Powliski. Note that Thomas released some other Vietnam singles - "A Fearless Soldier" (Tin Pan # 51-543) (1967), "The Last Ballad of Vietnam" (Tin Pan # 70-660) (1970), and "Freedom Boys" (Tin Pan # 53-549).

Tin Pan Alley Records TPA 71-555A, time 2:02, Juke Box Alley (ASCAP); "The Prisoner of War Song" (Richard Powliski), Mike Thomas; Tin Pan Alley, Inc., Lake Grove, New York 11755. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Song Poem

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]▤ Song Poems

#190 Charlie Bee & Cockleburs P.O.W. Single · P.O.W. / Average Worker · Glolite # GL 102 · USA

The song "P.O.W." (Glolite Records # GL 102) by the country artist Charlie Bee & Cockleburs, out of Memphis, Tennessee, presented the perspective of a soldier "in North Vietnam" in a "prisoner of war camp" . The soldier described to his parents the difficult conditions, with no shoes in his cold feet and being treated roughly. He called on America to "wake up" and for the president to bring home the P.O.W.s. He also described how he had to bury his friend, and how this would impact on his wife and baby boy. At the end of the song, the soldier said "it's good to know someone cares" . Written by Thurman Pruitt. Produced by Bill Glore and Lewis Willis - Glore actually founded this record label. He later purchased the famous American Sound Studios.¹ Probably released in the early 1970s.

Glolite Records GL 102 A (8888), 760 Los Angeles, Memphis, Tennessee 38112; "P.O.W." (Thurman Pruitt), 2:49, Glolite Publ. Co. and Cocklebur Music Co., BMI; produced by Bill Glore & Lewis Willis. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Soldier's Perspective Protest

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#191 Bobby Flores M.I.A. (Missing in Action) Single · M.I.A. (Missing in Action) / Spin the Bottle · Joey # JOEY-5003 · USA

Credited on the record as Bobby Flores & Country Gentleman.

Bobby Flores, a Mexican-American from San Antonio, Texas, started his career as a child performer, said to be aged of 9 in 1970, around the time that this record was probably released.¹² The song "M.I.A. - Missing in Action" looked at the P.O.W. issue, narrated by the son of the captured soldier. The soldier asked his son to look after the family while he was away. The son said that his father was in Vietnam "to preserve the right of freedom for people" , thus taking a patriotic perspective.

Joey JOEY-5003-B, blue and silver label, stereo, "English Series", 6711 W. Commerce, San Antonio, Texas 78228; "M.I.A. - Missing in Action -" (Bobby Flores), Elzaz Music, BMI; Bobby Flores & Country Gentleman; "Distributed by Rangel Record Dist." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Child

Genres: ♪ CountryHonky Tonk

Also in: ▤ Children on Record▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years] ▤ • Vietnam War: Christmas Songs ▤ • Vietnam War: Mexican-American Songs

#192 Eddie Aleman Soldier Single · Soldadito / Soldier · Omega [San Antonio] # 0-1004 · USA

This single featured the same song on both sides, one in English, the recording "Soldier" , and one in Spanish, the recording "Soldadito" (Omega Records # 0-1004), which looked at the home front perspective, through the eyes of a mother, and a soldier's letter. It also featured patriotic, anti-war, and religious sentiment. The song started with a spoken-word introduction: "in memory of all my friends, those that didn't make it back" . On the anti-war side, the song pondered "is it worth the price" to fight. In presenting the home front perspective, the narrative told of the mother who "holds his picture and begins to cry" . But the song is clear in explaining the point of the war, with the patriotic line: "he made this precious country safe for you and me" . Note that this song also had a small line about Prisoner's of War (P.O.W.s): "some were taken prisoners, some came home" . Aslo see: . The picture sleeve contained the following text, which noted that "war is hell", but largely consisted of pro-soldier sentiment:

Omega 0-1004, stereo, 45 RPM, orange labels: 0-1004-A "Soldadito" (Eddie Aleman), BMI, 2:51, and 0-1004-B "Soldier" (Eddie Aleman), BMI, 2:51; Tortilla Music; producer Manny R. Guerra; "Guerra Company Production, 3205-07 South Flores, San Antonio, Texas 78204". White picture sleeve ("Omega 1004") titled "Soldadito (Soldier)" with a drawing of a helmet on a rifle planted in the ground; its text says "war is hell" and that "We, at GCP" thank the fighting men of all wars and "dedicate this song of one such soldier, to all men who love God and country the way he did." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Anti-War Patriotic P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Hispanic MusicTex-MexTejano

Also in: ▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#193 Eddie Aleman Soldadito Single · Soldadito / Soldier · Omega [San Antonio] # 0-1004 · USA

Annotation: see “Soldier” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Anti-War Patriotic P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Hispanic MusicTex-MexTejano

Also in: ▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#194 Little Joe & The Starlites El Prisionero de Vietnam Single · Ultima Copa / El prisionero de Vietnam · Starlites # ST-001 · USA

The song "El prisionero de Vietnam" ("The Prisoner of Vietnam") (Starlites # ST-001) presumably dealt with the Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) issue. As the two songs above, it was performed by a Mexican-American artist - in this case, Little Joe, from Texas, USA, who also performed with the group Little Joe and The Latinaires, which released the Vietnam-related song "A la guerra ya me llevan".

Starlites ST-001-B (001-B), "Producciones Starlites - Lompoc, Cal.", yellow label; "El Prisionero de Vietnam" (Joe Figueroa), 2:55; Little Joe & The Starlites. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Theme: P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ Hispanic MusicRanchera

Also in: ▤ Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs

#195–204 The Lonesome Valley Singers God Bless the Working Man Album · Diplomat # DS-2489 · USA

All 10 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

Another country music, Vietnam related album by the Lonesome Valley Singers - in addition to Hello Vietnam: Country & Western War Songs (1965) and Men in the Green Berets (1966) - all released on the New Jersey based label Diplomat Records - part of the SPC (Synthetic Plastics Company), established in 1920s, a plastics company that produced budget music albums (usually sold for around 99¢).¹ This album included the song "P.O.W." (Diplomatic # DS-2489). Narrated from the perspective a P.O.W., held for "three long and lonely years" , he wondered why the war continued. He then went on to call for the indiscriminate bombing of Vietnam, to cause a lot of harm, and thus force the North Vietnamese into surrendering: "why not let the bombs fall where they may and let the enemy know we mean it" .

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#205 Meteliko P.O.W. & M.I.A. Album · Going Home · Aki # AKI-101 · Tonga

Geoffrey Meteliko - a Polynesian musician born in Tonga, his last known address was Pacific Palisades, California.¹² He attended school in Tonga and Hawaii, he later graduated from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. He moved to Los Angeles where he began his musical career.³ The song "P.O.W. & M.I.A." (Aki Records # AKI-101) did not have a date on, but was probably released early to mid-1970s. The narrator addressed the soldiers, expressing sympathy for their position and declaring that "somebody cares...we're gonna bring you home" . Produced by Bumps Blackwell.

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Soldier's Perspective

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

#206 Harold Putnam The Outcome of Vietnam Single · The Outcome of Vietnam / No Sympathy · Strato-Sound # SS-104 · USA

Credited on the record as Harold Putnam and The Country Playboys.

The country song "The Outcome of Vietnam" (Strato-Sound Productions # SS-104) by Harold Putnam - the record had no date on, but based on the lyrics, it probably appeared around 1973-1975: "the war has ended in Vietnam" . Released in Bear Creek Park, Columbia, Tennessee. The song looked at the return of the P.O.W.s under Operation Homecoming. The narrator took the perspective of a soldier's parent. The parent expressed happiness that the "prisoners have...been set free" from the "camps over there" . However, the narrator soon discovered that his child "was killed in action" . While some had "reunions and laughter" , others faced "heartbreak" . He called on people to remember that soldier's died "for Uncle Sam to keep this country free" , therefore taking a pro-government, patriotic stance.

Strato-Sound Productions SS-104 A, Side A, black and silver label, Bear Creek Pk., Columbia, Tenn.; "The Outcome of Vietnam", time 3:05, BMI; credited to Harold Putnam and The Country Playboys. No writer is printed. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. K.I.A. Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#207–216 Jerry Hayes Back From Nam Album · Toro # TAS-501 · USA

All 10 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

Jerry Hayes, born 10 October 1947 in Columbia, Tennessee, moved to Dallas, Texas with his parents where he attended school. The back of the LP (Toro Records # TAS-501) said that he then "joined the marines at the age of 19. He left San Diego Harbor January 7 of 1967 for duty on Okinawa and then to combat where he landed at DaNang in Viet Nam and served with the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force. He returned to the states after the Tet Offensive in 1968 and went back to his country heritage in Tennessee seeking a career in music. Was discovered in Dallas latter as a remarkable talent for writing songs. His words tell a revealing story in Back in Nam". Thus, this collection of songs provided a veterans perspective on the war in the post-war period. In the 1990s he visited schools talking about his experiences in Vietnam and playing his songs.¹ There is no date on the record, but the songs were registered for copyright between 1973 and 1975, and the record was probably released shortly after that, recorded at the Sumet-Bernet Sound Studios, Dallas, Texas.² He re-recorded the songs in 1993 with his group "In Country" for a cassette called "Thanks to Them" .³ Key themes found within the album: patriotism, support for the veterans, draft card burning and draft dodgers, the fighting conditions in Vietnam, and drug use in Vietnam. Two of the songs looked at P.O.W. / M.I.A. issue. The first song "Seven Lonely Years" , narrated in the third person, described a soldier in a "prison camp in Vietnam" . He felt loneliness and desired to see his family and friends again. It concluded with the news that the P.O.W.s would be returning home to the USA.

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#217 Buddy McDavid & Band Mister President Single · Mister President / Let's Stand Up America · Krawall # 188 · Germany

Mister President (McDavid, Buddy)
Let's Stand Up America

P.O.W.
Country pop, 1980s. Released in Germany.

Turquoise Krawall ("record's Krawall") label, Best.-Nr. A 0188, LC 8907, GEMA, 45 rpm. A-Seite: "Mister President", 2:43; B-Seite: "Let's Stand Up America", 3:20; both "Komponist und Texter: Buddy McDavid", Produzent: Alfred Binder, published by MKW music ed., Ludwigshafen BRD. Two picture sleeves (one titled "Mister President", one "Let's Stand Up America") carry the same colour drawing: a sailor, the U.S. flag beside a flagpole, the Capitol dome and a classical government building, the Statue of Liberty and a soldier in a camouflage helmet holding a document; the "Mister President" sleeve is autographed in ink. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Patriotic First Indo-China War

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#218 Buddy McDavid & Band Let's Stand Up America Single · Mister President / Let's Stand Up America · Krawall # 188 · Germany

Annotation: see “Mister President” above (same release).

Themes: Vet Patriotic WW1 WW2 M.I.A. P.O.W.

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#219 Bobby Jay Help! I've Been Drafted Single · Help! I've Been Drafted / Son of a Gun Hon · Alta # 108 · USA

The song Help! I've Been Drafted (Jay, Bobby)

Draft. Country music.
P.O.W. reference

Alta Records, Inc. 108 (SoN 30972), white label marked "Promotional Copy"; "Help! I've Been Drafted" (A. R. Jeter-Dow Booker), 3:20, Pamper Music, Inc. BMI; "Dist. by Sound of Nashville, Inc., 160 2nd Ave. S., Nashville, Tennessee". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Draft Reluctance P.O.W. Grenade Vet KP Draft

Genres: ♪ CountryNovelty

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

#220 Fr. John Kresnik MIA Single · MIA / I Believe · Croat # SR-5982 · USA

Croat Records SR-5982 A (30859), white label; "MIA" (John Kresnik), 3:05; produced and arranged by Chuck Penington, engineered by Fenton Isaacson.

The picture sleeve front shows "MIA" in pink over a photo of a smiling young airman in a flight jacket with a "Wild Weasel" patch, captioned "Mike Bosiljevac".

The back states that Captain Mike Bosiljevac, USAF, of Omaha, Nebraska, attended the Air Force Academy and was shot down over North Vietnam near the Son Tay prison compound when the F-105 he was in was struck by a SAM, that the pilot was released in 1973, and that "the Vietnamese authorities have refused to tell us what has happened to Mike".

Credits: piano Chuck Penington, drums Subby Anzaldo Jr., guitar Ron Cooley, bass Brian Sampson, voices Denise Fackler and Sara Flackjaw, engineer Fenton Isaacson, producer Chuck Penington; acknowledgements to Subby Anzaldo Entertainment Agency and Shorty Vest, Omaha Musicians Association, Local 70-558; Croat Records, PO Box 1496, Omaha, NE 68101. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. M.I.A. Home Front Perspective Religion

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#221 S. Sgt Jerry Stewart Prisoner of War Single · Prisoner of War / Tribute to a Soldier · United Low Country · USA

Credited on the record as S. Sgt. Jerry Stewart and the Dean Brothers.

Prisoner of War (Stuart, Jerry)
Tribute to a Soldier (Stuart, Jerry)

West Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Country
Patriotic, P.O.W. song

Side a: P.O.W. writing a letter to son he's never seen. Bad conditions in prison. But doing it freedom.
Side b: Soldier in Vietnam fighting for country. Combat description. Killed in action (KIA).

United Low Country Records, stereo, white-and-black label with a target logo; "Prisoner of War", writer J. Stewart, 2:47, United Low Country Pub. Co., BMI; S. Sgt. Jerry Stewart and the Dean Brothers, produced by Jay Ronn, engineer Howard A. Knight, Jr. No catalogue number is printed on the label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective P.O.W. M.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Country

#222 S. Sgt Jerry Stewart Tribute to a Soldier Single · Prisoner of War / Tribute to a Soldier · United Low Country · USA

Credited on the record as S. Sgt. Jerry Stewart and the Dean Brothers.

Annotation: see “Prisoner of War” above (same release).

Themes: Soldier's Perspective Patriotic Jungle K.I.A.

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#223 Fred Travalena Never Asked (P.O.W. - M.I.A. Theme) Single · Travlo # FTSS-3938 · USA

Never Asked (P.O.W. - M.I.A. Theme) (Travalena, Fred)

Travlo FTSS-3938, Side 1 stereo (A) and Side 2 mono (B), both "Never Asked" (P.O.W. – M.I.A. Theme); written, produced and arranged by Fred Travalena and Sandy Shire; featuring The United States Air Force Symphony and the Singing Sergeants, Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, director; conducted by Sandy Shire. White picture sleeve headed "A Song for Veteran's Day – Never Asked – a thank you and a remembrance…", vocal by Fred Travalena and the United States Air Force Symphony, with a U.S. flag and the POW*MIA emblem captioned "'Lest we forget".

The sleeve quotes a statement dated July 10, 1982, signed Ronald Reagan: "I assure you that actions to investigate live sighting reports receive and will continue to receive necessary priority and resources, based on the assumption that at least some Americans are still held captive." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic P.O.W. M.I.A. Yellow Ribbon

Genre: ♪ Easy Listening

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#224 Willie Coffey So Long Mom Single · So Long Mom / Sons Last Call From Seattle · Nutt NS # 1 · USA

So Long Mom (Coffey, Willie)
Sons Last Call From Seattle (Coffey, Willie)

Contemporary folk, Missing in action (MIA)
A-side: soldier's perspective. I've fallen in battle.
Thinking of mum baking, saying prayers and reading the bible.
B-side: mum's perspective - misses son, MIA according to Uncle Sam.

Nutt Records NS 001, yellow label with acorn design: NS 001 A "So Long Mom" (Alma Nutt), Oleta, BMI, 3:07; NS 001 B "Sons Last Call From Seattle" (Alma Nutt), Oleta, BMI, 1:20. The B-side label carries a handwritten inscription beginning "Dear Ken – my adopted son" and signed "Love". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Soldier's Perspective K.I.A. Religion

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#225 Willie Coffey Sons Last Call From Seattle Single · So Long Mom / Sons Last Call From Seattle · Nutt NS # 1 · USA

Annotation: see “So Long Mom” above (same release).

Themes: Home Front Perspective Soldier's Perspective M.I.A.

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years]

#226 Jack Lindsay All Alone in a Bamboo Cage Single · All Alone in a Bamboo Cage / Ambition · Onnysay # SW45-1001 · USA

All Alone in a Bamboo Cage (Lindsay, Jack)

Country gospel, soldier's perspective, P.O.W.
Country has abandoned me - been here for 20 years.
Living on memories and prayer.
Need new leadership to release me from this VC cell.

Onnysay Records SW45-1001A (29053), white label; "All Alone in a Bamboo Cage" (Major B. B. Boyd, Jr. and J. Helton), published by Onnysay Pub. Co., BMI, time 2:25, intro 12 sec.; produced by Sonny Watson; Onnysay Records, Box 9154, Knoxville, Tenn. 37920. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. Religion Soldier's Perspective VC Anti-Government

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

#227 Gene Strasser Prisoners of War Single · 24th Power / Prisoners of War · Delta [Nashville] # 1076 · USA

Prisoners of War (Strasser, Gene)

P.O.W. song

Delta Records B1076, 45 RPM, white label, 807 17th Ave. S., Nashville, Tenn. 37203; "Prisoners of War" (Strasser-Winters), 2:00, Georgene & Wideopen Pub., BMI; produced by Bill Haney. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: P.O.W. VC

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#228 Casey Jones Thank You Mr. President Single · Thank You Mr. President / Black Velvet · Le Cam # LC-342 · USA

Thank You Mr. President (Jones, Casey)

Fanfare, pro-Nixon, P.O.W.
Fort Worth, Texas
Thank you president for staying strong, ending the Vietnam War, and securing the return of the P.O.W.s
Opened up China and Russia. Middle East peace, strong economy

LeCam Records, P.O. Box 11152, Ft. Worth, Texas 76110, LC-342A, LC-872, 45 RPM; "Thank You Mr. President" (Major Bill Smith), Softcharay Music, BMI, 2:13; Casey Jones. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Anti-War Nixon P.O.W. China (Cold War) Russia

Genres: ♪ CountryFanfare

Also in: ▤ Civil Rights Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]