I say, "I'm sick of the grunts and their obsession with their M-16s
And the enemies' AK-47s.
My memos and TWIXs killed more soldiers
Than the grunts ever dreamed
Of killing
With their mad minutes, free-fire zones and sweep-and-clears."
"Yeah," said Dan, "but the grunts were killing the enemy.
Your memos were friendly fire."
"Well, yeah. There's that," I say. "But that's the only real difference."
This is one of only two Vietnam vet poems I've written. I wrote it in 1993, and I dedicate it to Dan Duffy.