They threw their kit bags on their shoulders
And headed for the nearest station.
Nine weeks of basic military training
Boot camp, was their chosen destination.
Six young men, from one small town
Who'd grown up to be, more like brothers.
Headed off with their heads held high
So proud of themselves and each other.
Later that year with a three-day pass
They headed back home overjoyed.
Their family's joy then turned to concern
When they told them, that they'd been deployed.
With courage and pride, they went off to fight
After first wishing each other well.
But none of them knew what war was really like
Although it fitted their vision of hell.
When the final battle ended and unable to tell
Who, the winners or losers had been.
The wounded were tended, they recovered their dead
But the scars in their minds were unseen.
Discharged without thought, of what happens now
They returned to the home they once knew.
But unlike before, when those six marched to war
Their number had been reduced by two.
Those six brave young men, hadn't known back then
When they packed all their gear in rucksacks.
History doesn't care, how many marched away
What matters, is how many came back.