A FOOT IN HEAVEN AND A FOOT IN HELL     By Swashplate       As in nature, a balence must be struck in an Aviator's life, We dash off into combat cracking jokes and watching the strife.     We fondly remember our lovers at home,yet pay the whore, We drink to forget the sorrow, rage, and the bullet through the crew door!     As the green foilage zips by, You can almost touch the leaves, Yet from the ground, sights trained on you steady, an easy kill a VC believes.     Landing in a patty,field or canopy hole, It`s all scarry to you, Your mind re-runs crashes, of good pilots lost, skills they knew!     Attitudes clash, Yet in the air, CE, pilots and gunners bond as a team, For things do go bad quick, the tell tale scream.     The pilots, Rank higher than most, Only fly your bird, Yet, They stay with you and your ship, working into the night! Without a word!     CE salutes his AC and ship as Cobras fly away, Yet, Pilots remember their CE`s with a cool beer at the end of the day!     Pilots gets more money and expensive stuff, Yet, CE`s tend to get the stuff through trades, haggeling rough!     Mortared and rocket attacks on the ground, bullets and rockets in the air, Quickly graying our soft and short cut teenaged hair.     Be it in the air or on the ground, Our jobs wasn`t that swell, For we all had a foot in heaven and a foot in HELL!     We curse loud, our parents far away, Yet we pray silently at night,that tommorow will be OK!     At night, the FNG`s can be heard to weep, Any wonder I had problems falling asleep!    Marvin Camp Camp Evans I corps, Doorgunner and Crewchief Member VHCMA and Heli-vets Army, 101st Abn Div. Vietnam 70-71  4/77th ARA, HHB and Cbtry Posterchild for Seagrams and Budwieser!

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