Heroes of Vietnam

Annotation

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.Sources1Billboard, 17 August 1985↩2Billboard, 17 August 1985↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Jim finished high school in the spring of '64 / His future was big and bright, the world an open door / He received the greetings that called him off to war / Marched away, without a word, like his dad did before / Vietnam he landed from a fairly sheltered life / Couldn't believe the horrors he wrote and told his wife / Jim went to fight for freedom, nothing there you can dispute / No one could call him yellow, just red, white and blue / This song is a tribute to the men who went to 'Nam / Those who gave the life, the black wall lists them one by one / Those that made it home we salute you and your past / The years have shown everyone that you're heroes at last / In just a few short weeks he was on the front lines / How could a foreign boy from Ohio know about land mines / That night he was captured and displayed in Hanoi / Cold, tired and hungry, a nineteen year old boy / Jim was locked up in a cage for over a year / Though he's alive today his mind plays tricks with fear / Sleep is hard to come by, the nightmares linger on / The price you pay for freedom to keep our country strong

Notes

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]

Themes

Patriotic · P.O.W. · Hanoi · Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

In collections

Draft Songs · P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs · Veterans Memorial Wall Songs