Echoes from Recon (February 23, 1970):
Voices recorded by “Hutch”
the night before Echo Recon went on Stand Down
R & R
Another Poem by “Hutch” (Ed Hutchins):
A week from the war
Put it so far away
I was only aware of
The joys of the day.
(Meanwhile –
Recon was in contact.)
The pineapple fields,
The waves with their roar
All pushed back the memories
Of what went before.
(Meanwhile-
Cossey was pinned down.)
The sunset on the ocean
The Hula girl’s sway
Marked the colorful finish
Of one perfect day.
(Meanwhile –
Terry was wounded.)
The week had just started
When suddenly through
I returned to my unit
Now left just a few.
(Meanwhile –
Another beautiful sun
set in Hawaii.)
22 June 1970
HERO
It’s not easy to smile and be happy
With your insides busted up
And part of your guts
Lying in a plastic bag on your stomach.But he was.
The sparkle in his eye
And his clear cheerful voice
Dissolved the cold depression
And replaced it with a warmth and happiness
The dismal surgical ward
Seemed so incapable of possessing.So much so
That the man next to him,
Who couldn’t even cry out his pain,
Said to himself,
“I’ll hang on one more day.”What a credit to his country!
At a time
When his generation’s struggle for manhood
Is marked by faltering
And sometimes backwards steps
It is certainly men like Jerry
With the courage to laugh and be pleasant
In the shadow of death;
Who, at the lowest point in their lives,
Reach out to help the man beside them,
Who will be the salvation of their day.His valor on the field
Was surpassed by his valor in the wards.
by Ed Hutchins
22 June 1970
HOMER-JEAN
A funny kind of guy with a funny kind of face
With a nowhere look from an anywhere place
He joined our squad with a great big smile
That covered his face for about a mile
I look at him an’ asked his name
He looks back an’ says, “If it’s all the same
I’m rough and I’m tough an’ I’m big an’ I’m mean
So why don’t you just call me Homer-Jean.”
Now there was a guy you’d want by your side
When the fighting got rough an’ nowhere to hide
Just he an’ you in the battle’s din
You’d know it’s be rough, but you know you’d win.
You could count on his aim an’ his steady hand
When the enemy saw him they turned and ran
For they’d heard tales but now they’ve seen
That tower of a man called Homer-Jean.
But as bad as he is and as much as he’s bold
Beneath that skin beats a heart of gold
When the grub gets low and the water runs out
He’ll come through without a doubt.
While back in the world the women wait
For his return so they can date
That big, that tall, that hunk, that lean
That man that’s known as Homer-Jean.
by Ed Hutchins
13 February 1970