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Men of Mike Cover

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Men of Mike, Men of Mike, once so brave!

Before they knew what struck them down,

They were laid to rest in a grave,

When I saw the bloody, battered boots,

I could hardly help but cry

For those breave, courageous men

Seemed much too young to die

                  Sorry Men

                  For Hate

Men of Mike, Men of Mike, once so bold!

Each in his own way

Had a heart of gold

War has no real paths of glory,

As these marked men were to know

It is only brass coffins, chunks of flesh,

And much too often, an ambitious foe

                  Sorry Men

                  For War

Men of Mike, Men of Mike, once so true!

It looks like there will always be war and hate

And men that will have to suffer like you

You’ve been society’s victims

As you grasped your last breath with pain

I hope men will learn to live by your deaths,

For then you will not have died in vain

                  Sorry Men

                  For Man’s Lack of Love and Understanding

                  Of Himself/Others

Artist Statement

This poem was written in summer 1965 after a patrol from Mike Company was ambushed outside of Da Nag, Viet Nam, killing 13 and wounding 31 Marines and Corpsman.

The poet served as a US Marine Corps Infantryman in Mike Company 3rd Battalion 9th Marines.

Competing Interests

The author has no competing interests to declare.

Language: English
Page range: 14 - 15
Submitted on: Jul 12, 2022
Accepted on: Feb 15, 2023
Published on: Mar 14, 2023
Published by: Virginia Tech Publishing
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2023 John P. Ferrick, published by Virginia Tech Publishing
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.