DON'T MEAN NOTHIN'

[DMZ-LT]

Me to Bill. Got to fight every day to keep movin , that baby helps. I hope they are smiling at me , I am. Opa

[bandito]

THERE IT IS

[waynechalker]

To all of you grunts, it does mean something! I was humbled by your stories.

WC
585th TC

[MORTARDUDE]

Drive On by Johnny Cash

http://www.manchu.org/sounds/driveon.ram


Drive On

Words and Music by Johnny Cash

I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
He was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam
He said is my country just a little off track
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back
But, it's better than not coming back at all
Many a good man I saw fall
And even now, every time I dream
I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
I remember one night, Tex and me
Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
We had our 16's on rock and roll
But, with all that fire, I was scared and cold
We were crazy, we were wild
And I have seen the tiger smile
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
And I'd be dead , but by God's grace
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
It was a real slow walk in a real sad rain
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
I came home, but Tex did not
And I can't talk about the hit he got
I got a little limp now when I walk
Got a little tremolo when I talk
But my letter read from Whiskey Sam
You're a walkin' talkin' miracle from Vietnam
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

and there it is brothers !!

[Gimpy]

Like the man said.

We have seen that Tiger smile!

Don't mean nuthin.

We are ALL....."walkin, talkin miracles from Vietnam"!

Don't mean nuthin.

Drive on Brother!

One more thing we have in common..........my wife Jackie delivered OUR first child by emergency C-section just like my daughter had to with her second child last week, just like your wife had to.

I carry the weight of sorry and heartache of our fallen brothers & sisters who never had that chance to hold, love and care for these "miracles" we were (and continue to be) so blessed with.

Welcome home brothers & sisters!

[SuperScout]

...... to slightly, ever so slightly paraphrase Shakespeare....

"....... though it appear a little out of fashion,
There is much care and valour in this
noble band of brothers........

Honor the dead.
Fight like hell for the living.
Hug them grandbabies!

Scouts Out!!
Brice

[exlrrp]

Don't mean nothing

This was when I felt my life was cheap--when I figured out it all wasn't going to mean anything. I thought this must have been a very common feeling but now I don't know. It didn't look like my life mattered to anybody at all, least of all the people who paid me. If they wanted to convince me they had my best intersts at hard, they sure were doing all the wrong things
I'd watch people come in and out of my life, sometimes real ugly. It was hard to see that it meant anything, it looked like a totally chaotic insane life.
And very short. When youre looking at your own death on a frequent basis you come to realize that it don't, indeed, mean nothin and you've been suckered into giving it away too cheap.
Thats the way I felt, anyway

james worth

[MORTARDUDE]

James :

I have been to the abyss and have heard the voices in my head say life is useless, a waste, God doesn't care about you, why not just stop it all now and forever.....that is when I would just ask God for help, and he has never let me down. I have finally come to the realization that all life is precious, there IS a method to the madness we see around us every day, and it is ALL for the best. It is damned hard to know this when all I can think about is to get as far away from the pain of living and facing the messes that I have made of my life....financially, physically, emotionally, and otherwise. You can't run away from yourself. I know, I have sure tried........All the best !!

Larry

P.S. : James, Did you get my package ?

[BLUEHAWK]

Maybe saying "thank you" is something along the lines of "don't mean nothin'", but thank you...

[Seascamp]

One of the things we did is go up north and support air strikes. Long story short there, we had TACAN, air search and height finding radar and a four rail Terrier AA missile battery plus all the surface action guns anyone could ask for. The role was to be the air navigation turning point for coming and going, an AA missile battery that took care of any MIGS or YAKS that would shadow shot up US Jets and then a full array of gun mounts to shred any NVN motor torpedo boats that got too brave for their own good.

And of course a key part of the role was to rescue any pilots that had to bail out due to a shot up aircraft. That was most always a very sad result. I distinctly recall a Navy A6 that looked like a trout trailing all it?s innards and the pilot that was barely coherent. Upper air bank tried to talk him through the egress procedure but something went wrong and the pilot blasted right through the canopy. I put the optics on the pilot and could tell he had not survived as he hung limp in the parachute harness, no helmet and his head was??.

The rescue motor whaleboat was right with him as soon as he touched water but the hand signal from the Corpsman told the story. I knew of the expression ?it don?t mean nuthin? but every time something like that happened I just got a real sad feeling and said nothing at all. Usually these episodes went on for a while as we set up for a rescue, I could hear commo going on, etc., so there was a bit of an emotional vested interest and I never got used to that aspect of the job.

Scamp