![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Sid-BW-2-300x200.jpg\")
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Silent for many decades, Vietnam veterans tell their stories in different ways, through books, blogs, articles, and music. One veteran, Sid Orr, found his voice by writing Vietnam ballads, telling the emotional story through poignant lyrics reflecting his and others\u2019 experiences during their time \u201cin country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sid grew up in rural Missouri, and like many \u201cfarm boys\u201d of the era, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 18 after receiving his draft card. He served in the Marine Corps for four years, the last of which was in Vietnam as a helicopter gunner stationed in Phu Bai, just south of the DMZ.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Sid-copter-2-300x196.jpg\")
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After returning from Vietnam, he made his way to Georgia and joined the Georgia Air National Guard serving another 30 years!<\/p>\n
Sid is a humble and thoughtful man, and his war experiences affected him deeply, staying with him through the decades. Like other Vietnam veterans, he felt a subconscious anger and shame that permeated his soul. And like others, he didn\u2019t talk about it.<\/p>\n
In the song, \u201cPowder Blue\u201d from his first CD, he describes how the war is never far away:<\/p>\n
\nI hear the mortars on the hillside<\/em><\/p>\n
Smoke covers my morning dew<\/em><\/p>\n
But the damn war is never behind me<\/em><\/p>\n
It colors all that I do<\/em><\/p>\n
Powder blue<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Returning from Vietnam, veterans like Sid faced many challenges. Unlike other wars, they went to war alone – not as part of a unit. They returned alone having to reintegrate into a society where many demonized those who fought \u201cin country.\u201d Friends, family members, and others who wanted to help didn\u2019t understand. They couldn\u2019t possibly. Sid says it best in his song, \u201cHe Can\u2019t Go Back Home From Vietnam\u201d:<\/p>\n
He can\u2019t go back home from Vietnam<\/i><\/p>\n
Ain\u2019t nobody there will understand<\/i><\/p>\n
They want their boy back home<\/i><\/p>\n
But that boy, he\u2019s long gone<\/i><\/p>\n
They took fifteen years of his<\/i><\/p>\n
Just paid him for one<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Songwriting is A Passion, a calling
\n<\/b><\/h4>\nBy the 1980s, Sid had what can only be described as a passion for songwriting, all kinds, but particularly country western and then bluegrass. The \u201cthree-chord poet\u201d carried a notebook and a cassette recorder with him everywhere, even pulling off the highway to record his thoughts. During this time, the Vietnam songs kept \u201cbugging\u201d him – they had to be written.<\/p>\n
Although they began as a personal cathartic experience, they evolved into a story Sid wanted to tell. The lyrics describe the action but convey so much more.<\/p>\n
The Vietnam veteran and his family\u2019s lives changed forever after he received his draft card. If a boy didn\u2019t go to college, he had thirty days to decide to enlist or be drafted. From \u201cYou\u2019ve Got Thirty Days:\u201d<\/p>\n
I was just 18<\/p>\n
Figured out the score<\/p>\n
Rich kids go to college<\/p>\n
Poor kids go to war<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some things were not an option<\/p>\n
Like running to Montreal<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t think that way<\/p>\n
We answered our nation\u2019s call<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Put your life on hold now<\/p>\n
Tell your friends goodbye<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got 30 days to decide<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Fighting in Vietnam, the warrior faced death or worse. The Missing In Action (MIA) just disappeared. For their families, the war never ended.<\/p>\n
In the \u201cMIA Song: I\u2019ll Be Right Back,\u201d a recon patrol clears a place to dig in – one man goes out to set the perimeter and never returns.<\/p>\n
Gonna leave my noisy helmet here<\/p>\n
Gonna leave my belt and pack<\/p>\n
The last thing the hero said<\/p>\n
\u201cSarge, I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They never sent his helmet home.<\/p>\n
Never sent his belt and pack.<\/p>\n
The only remains were memories<\/p>\n
To his hometown high school class<\/p>\n
But they swore to God they won\u2019t lose hope<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll hold out to the last<\/p>\n
Because the promise that he made<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Mom, I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For the Vietnam vets who came home, the memories remain.\u00a0 As for the rest of us – there is a black granite wall that will not let us forget the 58,000+ warriors who made the ultimate sacrifice. From the song \u201cAs Long As The Black Granite Stands\u201d:<\/p>\n
He wore a helmet and heavy dark green vest<\/p>\n
To protect his head and the best part of his chest<\/p>\n
Chaplain told his men, that the vest won\u2019t even start<\/p>\n
To protect the wounded soldier\u2019s heart<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As long as the black granite stands<\/p>\n
58,000 names man to man<\/p>\n
Words of the chaplain come alive<\/p>\n
Oh in our hearts our brothers never die<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll never let our brothers\u2019 memories die<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Recording Ain\u2019t That Easy<\/b><\/h4>\n
Sid didn\u2019t plan to make a CD, he just wanted to record demos of a few of his songs. He worked with local studios, singing and playing guitar to a piano accompaniment. After spending hours and hours on the time-consuming task of recording and editing tracks on reel-to-reel recording systems, they just didn\u2019t sound good. Sid burned out on his songs – but he never quit writing, and wouldn\u2019t or couldn\u2019t let go of his Vietnam ballads.<\/p>\n
From the mid-1990\u2019s to 2010 recording had to take a back seat. As part of the Air National Guard, Sid \u201ccommuted\u201d between Atlanta, GA area to Warner Robins Air Force Base in middle Georgia from 1994 to 1999. At the same time, he was taking education courses, eventually acquiring his teaching credentials. After retiring from the Georgia Air National Guard in 1999, he taught high school until he retired from education in 2010.<\/p>\n
For the first time in over fifteen years, he had the time to devote to his songwriting, and to the Vietnam ballads that wouldn\u2019t let him go – the time had come.<\/p>\n
The First CD Is Born<\/b><\/h4>\n
Remembering his previous recording experience, Sid decided to go to Nashville, the \u201cHome of Country Music,\u201d with professional studio musicians and vocalists. He met Galen Breen at Gator Hole Studios, and the two discussed the ballads and how Sid wanted to convey his message. Sid returned home and prepared two songs a week for Galen to record. With Nashville studio musicians and the talent of 70\u2019s country western singer, David Wills, the songs came to life in the 2013 CD release – Vietnam: The Journey.<\/i><\/p>\n
After the CD\u2019s release, Sid found it rewarding to receive positive feedback from friends, family, and fellow veterans who were \u201cblown away,\u201d or \u201cin awe.\u201d One veteran said he couldn\u2019t stop listening to it – the songs touched him in ways he could not describe.<\/p>\n
To be Continued…<\/h4>\n
In our next post, learn how Tunnel Rats Music came to be. How having like-minded and supportive people like Robin Daniel and Libby Wilson helped Sid move forward to write and produce the second CD – Vietnam: The Journey Continues<\/i>.<\/strong>M<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part I: Sid’s Story Silent for many decades, Vietnam veterans tell their stories in different ways, through books, blogs, articles, and music. One veteran, Sid Orr, found his voice by writing Vietnam ballads, telling the emotional story through poignant lyrics reflecting his and others\u2019 experiences during their time \u201cin country.\u201d Sid grew up in rural … Continue reading “Music Tells The Story – Part I”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions\/503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelratsmusic.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}