COTEP.org - This Is

For All the Young Men Who Served in NAM and never got the Proper Welcome Home:

I watched a young soldier,
Take his seat on the plane,
The guy by the window said
Son, what's your name?
He said,
Hi I'm Jimmy,
Just back from overseas,
And when these boots hit down in Texas,
I'm gonna... drop to my knees,
Because I ain't seen my wife,
In 18 months and 14 days
The man smiled at him and said,
Well let me be the first to say,

Welcome home,
Welcome home,
It's good to have you back where you belong
You fought hard for this land you love
And I thank you for all of us
We're proud to call you one of our own
Welcome home

Then the man looked away and said,
I know how you must feel
I spent two long years in Vietnam
And I got back to Jacksonville,
There were protest signs and picket lines
And some girl spit in my face,
Hey I was just trying to make this world a safer place,
Then his voice started trembling
In his eyes I saw a tear
He said,
I didn't need a hero’s welcome
But it'd sure been nice to hear

Welcome home
Welcome home
It's good to have you back where you belong
You fought hard for this land you love
And I thank you for all of us
We're proud to call you one of our own,
Welcome home

Well the band was playin,
And the crowd was cheering,
As we came walking through that gate,
Then the soldier stopped and
Turned to the man standing near him,
He saluted him and said
Sir, I know it's a little late but,

Welcome home,
Welcome home,
It’s good to have you back where you belong
You fought hard for this land you love
And I thank you for all of us
We're proud to call you one of our own,
Welcome home
Yeah we're so proud to call you one of our own,
Welcome home.

Clyde