Paul Hardcastle - 19 - 12'' version lyrics

In 1965 Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war but it wasn't It was different in many ways, as so were those that did the fighting In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was 26 In Vietnam he was 19 In-in-in Vietnam he was 19 The shooting and fighting of the past two weeks continued today 25 miles west of Saigon I really wasn't sure what was going on Ni-ni-ni 19, 19, ni-19 19 19, 19, 19, 19 In Vietnam the combat soldier typically served A twelve month tour of duty But was exposed to hostile fire almost everyday Ni-ni-ni 19, Ni-ni-ni 19 Hundreds of thousands of men who saw heavy combat In Vietnam were arrested since discharge Their arrest rate is almost twice that of non-veterans of the same age There are no accurate figures of how many of these men Have been incarcerated But a Veterans Administration study Concludes that the greater of vets Exposure to combat could more likely affect his chances Of being arrested or convicted This is one legacy of the Vietnam War All those who remember the war They won't forget what they've seen Destruction of men in their prime Whose average was 19 De-de-destruction De-de-destruction War, war De-de-destruction, wa, wa, war, wa, war, war De-de-destruction War, war After World War II the men came home together on troop ships But the Vietnam vet often arrived home within 48 hours of jungle combat Perhaps the most dramatic difference between World War II and Vietnam was coming home None of them received a hero's welcome None of them received a heroes welcome, none of them, none of them Ne-ne-ne, ne-ne-ne, none of them, none of them, none of them None of them received a hero's welcome None of them received a hero's welcome According to a Veteran's Administration study Half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered from what Psychiatrists call Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder Many vets complain of alienation, rage or guilt Some succumb to suicidal thoughts Eight to ten years after coming home Almost eight hundred thousand men are still fighting the Vietnam War De-de-destruction Ni-ni-ni 19, 19, ni19 19 19, 19, 19, 19 Ni-ni-ni 19, 19, ni-19 19 19, 19, 19, 19 When we came back it was different, everybody wants to know "How'd it happened to those guys over there There's gotta be something wrong somewhere We did what we had to do There's gotta be something wrong somewhere People wanted us to be ashamed of what it made us Dad had no idea what he went to fight and he is now All we want to do is come home All we want to do is come home What did we do it for? All we want to do is come home Was it worth it