Stu Huggens & The Susquehanna River Band
Credited on the record as Stu Huggens and The Susquehanna River Band.
They're Still Heroes Today
1988 · River Basin 1014 · Pennsylvania, USA
- Artist
- Stu Huggens & The Susquehanna River Band
- Credited on the record as
- Stu Huggens and The Susquehanna River Band
- Title
- They're Still Heroes Today
- Release
- They're Still Heroes Today / When You Look Into Someone's Eyes
- Year
- 1988
- Label
- River Basin # 1014
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Pennsylvania, USA
- Songwriter
- Stu Huggens
- Genre
- Country · Country Pop
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Post-war country pop song "They're Still Heroes Today" (River Basin Records # RBR 1014) released by Stu Huggens and The Susquehanna River Band. There is no location on the record - Huggens is from and currently based in Pennsylvania, USA, performing in the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York area.123 The song is narrated from perspective of a Vietnam veteran, who paid tribute to those who fought in the war. He recalled being 18, just out of school, when he signed up for the US marines, to fight "in the jungles...and paddies of Vietnam". He then recalled the lack of patriotic parades for the soldiers returning home: "no one welcomed us with open arms, no one seemed to care". The song also noted the anti-war movement: "protesters said politicians lied". This very much reflected on the Vietnam Syndrome, typically found in post-war 80s songs in which veterans returned to an unfavorable domestic climate in the US. The song concluded by referencing the memorial wall: "their names on a marble wall, 57,000 in all, never came back".Sources1Google News Archive↩2archive.today↩3inyork.com (link no longer available)↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Veterans Memorial Wall Songs
Post-war country pop song "They're Still Heroes Today" (River Basin Records # RBR 1014) released by Stu Huggens and The Susquehanna River Band. There is no location on the record - Huggens is from and currently based in Pennsylvania, USA, performing in the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York area.123 The song is narrated from perspective of a Vietnam veteran, who paid tribute to those who fought in the war. He recalled being 18, just out of school, when he signed up for the US marines, to fight "in the jungles...and paddies of Vietnam". He then recalled the lack of patriotic parades for the soldiers returning home: "no one welcomed us with open arms, no one seemed to care". The song also noted the anti-war movement: "protesters said politicians lied". This very much reflected on the Vietnam Syndrome, typically found in post-war 80s songs in which veterans returned to an unfavorable domestic climate in the US. The song concluded by referencing the memorial wall: "their names on a marble wall, 57,000 in all, never came back". Sources1Google News Archive↩2archive.today↩3inyork.com (link no longer available)↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Out of school and just eighteen, I signed up for the US marines / I knew I'd go out soon to fight a war / All the young men in their prime, headed out to the firing line / In the jungles and mountains and paddies of Vietnam / We watched with tear filled eyes / When we saw good friends die / Puff the magic dragon flew at night / Back home they said that this war wasn't right / They still sent us out to fight in the heat, and the rain, and the mud of Vietnam / I once heard someone say, there's no heroes left today / But I knew some back in 1968 / All of my brothers in arms, who served over in Vietnam / They were heroes then, they are still heroes today / We came home from the war, no one welcomed us with open arms / No one seemed to care what we went through / We thought we served our country with pride / Protesters said politicians lied / Years ago but not forgotten, Vietnam / Their names on a marble wall, 57,000 in all / Never came back to see their homes again / Fathers, sons, brothers and friends and all the women who served with them in the jungles and mountains, and paddies, in the heat and rain, and the blood of Vietnam
Notes
River Basin Records, A side; "They're Still Heroes Today" (Stu Huggens), © 1988, BMI; produced by Jeff Brubaker. No catalogue number or time printed. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
Stu Huggens is a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who founded the Susquehanna River Band on returning home; the group has played Lancaster County, Pennsylvania venues for decades (American Music Theatre, Long's Park, Fuhrman Park) and remains active as of 2025 per lancasteronline.com. "They're Still Heroes Today" b/w "When You Look Into Someone's Eyes" (River Basin Records, 1988) is credited "Stu Huggens And The Susquehanna River Band"; later releases include a 1990 cassette, "Solid Roots" (1994) and the solo CD "Same Man, Different Time" (Lanark, 2016). [Source: lancasteronline.com; Discogs]
Themes
Vet · Vietnam Syndrome · Credibility Gap · Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall · Military