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My father got drafted to Vietnam, served pretty deep in the trenches, came back home, got married, bought a house, had a kid, and spent 40 plus years working in a Cat factory in Peoria. That song is pretty much about him. He is very proud to have served, but it absolutely fucked him up. He for sure has some pretty serious PTSD that he has dealth with over the years, as well as permanent hearing loss from an artillary gun, and some cancer related issues likely related to Agent Orange. He's only actually talked about being in Vietnam in any detail a couple of times in my lifetime. Previous Message
The song is pretty direct about the country throwing away people who went to fight in Vietnam. A little less direct about whether Vietnam was worth it, but still pretty clear to me his thoughts on that.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
...
Come back home to the refinery
Hirin' man says, "Son, if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, "Son, don't you understand now?"
...
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burnin' down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go
Recrudescence 
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on June 2, 2026, 12:49:29, in reply to "