They're Still Heroes Today

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. (1) (2) (3) 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".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

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

In collections

Veterans Memorial Wall Songs