starsgowaltzing:

The Herd - I was Only 19

Sent off on a four-week long operation
where every single step could be your last one
My two legs were sorta living hell
falling with the shells, war within yourself
But you wouldn’t let your mates down
‘til they had you dusted off
so you closed your eyes and thought of something else

Then someone yelled ‘contact!’
another bloke swore
we hooked in there for hours then a god almighty roar
Then Frankie kicked a mine
the day that mankind kicked the moon

God help me, he was going home in June

And I can still see Frank with a can in his hand
thirty-six hour leave in the bar at the Grand
I can still hear Frank
a screaming mess
of bleeding flesh
couldn’t retrieve his legs

The ANZAC legend
neglected to mention
the mud
the fear
the blood
the tears
the tension
Dad’s recollection
beyond comprehension
didn’t seem quite real until we were sent in
The chaos and confusion
the fire and steel
hot shrapnel in my back
I didn’t even feel

God help me, I was only nineteen

This is a cover of Redgum’s anti-Vietnam song of the same name.