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								Troopship |  |  |  
					| A long line of Brothers in arms 
 California
 November 1965
 
 Soldiers
 come from everywhere
 to stand
 sit
 and sleep in piles
 
 like laundry bags
 on the docks in Long Beach
 
 Where ships arrived
 
 MSTS
 ships
 that silently loaded them all
 
 and quietly
 slipped away
 
 The journey started
 with a last look
 
 silence
 and a thousand eyes
 gazing at the land called home
 
 None knew
 then
 that we would never
 ever
 return
 the same
 
 again
 
 ... November 1966
 
 Class A's
 and more silence
 
 Ton Son Nhut
 homeward flight
 that... arrived at night
 
 and into morning light
 
 that saw silver caskets
 in the silence of the Sun
 
 silence living and dead
 ... and soldiers flying home
 
 ... coming in
 through the OUT door
 
 yet never
 ever
 really coming home
 
 inside...
 
 ... growing old
 
 restless at night
 and in dreams
 
 ... of Troopship
 
 Vietnam.
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					| By 
					Lou J. Klaiber Copyright 2004
 Listed November 10, 2009
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					Lou served in Vietnam in 3 Corps Vietnam during 1965 - 1966 as a Sergeant E-5.
 It is illegal to use this poem without the author's permission.
 ~~ Send your comments and/or use permission request to 
								
								Lou. ~~
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