8th Of November

Hello, I'm Kris Kristofferson
 On November 8th, 1965, the 173rd Airborne Brigade on Operation Hump War Zone D in Vietnam were ambushed by over 1200 V.C
 Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives that day
 Severely wounded and riskin' his own life, Lawrence Joll, a medic
 Was the first livin' black man since the Spanish-American War
 To receive the United States Medal of Honor
 For savin' so many lives in the midst of battle that day
 Our friend, Nialls Harris, retired 25 years, United States Army
 The guy who gave Big Kenny his top hat
 Was one of the wounded who lived
 This song is his story
 Caught in the action of 'kill or be killed'
 "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for a friend"
 Said goodbye to his momma as he left South Dakota
 To fight for the Red, White and Blue
 He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
 Just doin' what he had to do
 He was dropped in the jungle
 Where the choppers would rumble
 With the smell of napalm in the air
 Then the sergeant said, "Look up ahead"
 Like a dark evil cloud, 1200 came down
 On him and 29 more
 They fought for their lives but most of them died
 In the 173rd Airborne
 On the 8th of November, the angels were cryin'
 As they carried his brothers away
 With the fire rainin' down and the hell all around
 There were few men left standin' that day
 Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
 1965, the 8th of November
 Now he's 58 and his pony tail's gray
 But the battle still plays in his head
 He limps when he walks but he's strong when he talks
 'Bout the shrapnel they left in his leg
 He puts on a gray suit over his Airborne tattoo
 And he ties it on one time a year
 And remembers that fallen as he orders a tall one
 And swallows it down with his tears
 On the 8th of November, the angels were cryin'
 As they carried his brothers away
 With the fire rainin' down and the hell all around
 There were few men left standin' that day
 Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
 1965, the 8th of November
 Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
 1965 (65)
 On the 8th of November, the angels were cryin'
 As they carried his brothers away
 With the fire rainin' down and the hell all around
 There were few men left standin' that day
 On the 8th of November, the angels were cryin'
 As they carried his brothers away
 With the fire rainin' down and the hell all around
 There were few men left standin' that day
 Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
 1965, the 8th of November
 8th of November
 (8th of November)
 Said goodbye to his Momma as he left South Dakota
 To fight for the Red, White and Blue
 He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
 Just doin' what he had to do