(With veneration to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Concord Hymn)

From Swift Boats they did brave the flood,
Their flag to autumn’s breeze unfurled,
Here again, embattled sailors stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

Their foe no longer silence kept,
Believing that the veteran sleeps;
That Time’s assured his treason‘s swept
Down history’s stream which backward creeps.

Tween hostile banks of media’s stream,
They fixed the sights of truth’s own gun;
Seeking but their honor to redeem,
And stay the march of Judas’ son.

Their Spirit made these warriors dare
To keep their nation’s honor free,
But Time and Nature will declare
Their honored place in history.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66