Jon or Jonny's what they called him back home
but we were all just "Private" to the Engineer Corp
Down for whatever, through thin & thick
in the worst parts of it all, he had my 6

His smile always lightened up the mood
when I needed a friend to listen, he was there too
Pieces of metel from an IED attack
still left a bit of shrapnel there in his back

"Where there's smoke.." Ya know that saying?
Needless to say, that's how he got a new name
1st man up, last one to leave
always the cool one when ya needed him to be

My "Battle Buddy"

E company came back 14 men short
with 30 purple hearts on class A uniforms
I got depressed & tried to deal with it
Smoke never seemed to find that switch

He didn't show up to formation one morn.
When I saw him in his car it shocked me to the core
seein' him there in PT shorts
with one less bullet in a 44

He was my Battle Buddy

....
Jon, or Jonny, is what they called him back home
We were all just Private to the Engineer Corp
Down for whatever, through thin & thick
in the worst parts of it all, he had my 6 .