Holding the Line

Said he sees the faces every night
64 kills confirmed - proud?
Vietnam vet
Met him doing laundry - just he & I
Showed me how to use the dryer
Discharged on mental disability
Became a biker king
Married - 3 kids
Grew fat - grey
Sporting a ponytail
Heavy attitude tempered with doubt
Hard to defend the line set down
I asked him about the 64
"They ain't goin' to cause trouble to nobody no more"
Said his superior told him to shoot
A boy foraging for cans in a garbage dump
Refused under threat of court-martial
He held fast
A few days later
Three buddies died in an explosion set by the boy
Should he have shot the boy?
He still wonders
Where to hold the line
I asked him if he'd do it all again
Hesitated, then said, yes!
I asked, why?
Said there was a military tradition in his family
A place to hold the line
Any excuse to feed the beast
Any excuse to be defined
64 dead boys - madness!

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