Ballad of the Fort Hood Three

Pete SeegerPete Seeger 

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Pete Seeger

Peter "Pete" Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an iconic American folk singer. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes. more »

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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!"

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