THE PBR'S

The name of our boat they call PBR,
The places we travel are many and far.
Our main objective the Vietnam coast,
Where few are our friends and the VC our host.
We travel at night and return in the morn,
To wipe out the VC this vow we have sworn.
Each day brings us sorrow each night brings us fear,
Deep down in our hearts we know "Charlie" is near.
At night on the river we hope and we pray,
That God will protect and keep "Charlie" away.
The silence is there it is on every side,
For somewhere out there our enemy hides.
Our Coxswain is cautious, our Gunner is tight,
Then comes the shout "They're there on the right"
The fifties are roaring, they're load and they're clear,
We've got "Charlie" worried, there's panic and fear.
Then comes the silence, the end of the fight,
The enemy's gone, he's run of in the night.
The coming of dawn means a patrol that is new,
We thank our protector for seeing us through.


Written after my first patrol on the boats in October 1966

First visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
22:30 on 5-24-96
Wayne D. Paterson
A.K.A. Panman