" dead weight "

You've heard the term ,
" dead weight " .

No . . . .

Buy a book ,
learn to read . . . .

I was a gunner ,
in helo's in Nam .

We transported some bodies . . . .

In body bags ,
talk about " dead weight " . . . .

Think about two 18 year olds ,
trying to get these bodies ,
into the cabin of a 34 . . . .

Hurryin' to get out of the LZ . . . .

There was one ,
on a stretcher ,
partially covered with a poncho .

The next was in a body bag ,
we had to drag across him .

His buddies didn't like it .

Not to sound callous ,
he was gone ,
the vessel was empty ,
just putrefyin' flesh and bones ,
beyond any pain or cares . . . .

No disrespect was intended . . . .

He was lucky ,
he didn't survive ,
to be written off ,
by an indifferent country . . . .

Or ,
reviled ,
by his countrymen . . . .

Besides ,
the guy in the body bag ,
was fuckin' heavy ,
we didn't have the strength ,
to lift him over the stretcher ,
had to drag him across . . . .

The skin of the guy on the stretcher ,
kinda smeared ,
like clay . . . .