Ballad Of The Fort Hood Three

Come all you brave Americans and listen unto me
If you can spare five minutes in this 20th century
I'll sing to you a story true as you will plainly see
It's about three US soldiers they call the Fort Hood Three

First, Pvt. Dennis Mora, he hails from New York town
A good student in Spanish Harlem, and a student a while at Brown
He cast his vote for Johnson in 1964
But let me quote his own words on the subject of this war

I call this a war of aggression, the whole world knows it's so
We're supporting a dictator who holds Hitler his hero
There is a war we ought to fight: It's the war on poverty
With jobs for all, no matter who, in this democracy

Next, Pvt. Jimmy Johnson, he comes from Harlem, too
He wanted to be a lawyer but left college before he was through
He had to bring his family income, worked as teller in a bank
Now listen to his own words and tell me what you think

I've spent a lot of time reading and discussing Vietnam
The government's not been honest in telling us about Saigon
Too long I followed blindly; I had to take a stand
The fight for freedom can be made right here in our own land

Next, Pvt. David Samas, a Californian
His background, Lithuanian, also Italian
The policemen told his father something quite absurd
They'd arrange for him a discharge if he'd just retract these words

We've been told in training that in Vietnam we must fight
And we may have to kill women and children, and that is quite all right
We say this war's illegal, immoral, and unjust
We're taking legal action, just the three of us

We'll report for duty but we won't go overseas
We're prepared to face court martial, but we won't fight for Ky
We three have talked it over, our decision now is clear
We will not go to Vietnam, we'll fight for freedom here

The army tried cajolery, and later on came threats
They were taken into custody, told jail was what they'd get
At the moment that I'm singing, the story's far from through
The next verses in the ballad may be partly up to you

Now if you don't believe me, you can read about it more
About the Fort Hood Three who have refused to fight this war
We can help them set our country straight on the right track again
When a man can hold his head with pride and say: I'm an American!