COMBAT Magazine: What A Shame

	C O M B A T
	the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones ™
	ISSN 1542-1546 Volume 02 Number 01 Winter ©Jan 2004

What A Shame
The Vietnam Quatrain – Part IV

^[†]

why were so many of America's finest driven into the shadowland?

was it in vain?

Quot capita, to sensus,

Et tu, Brute!

^[†] Editorial note : on 8 September 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted Richard M. Nixon an unconditional pardon for all federal crimes he may have committed; and on 16 September 1974, President Gerald R. Ford offered amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders and military deserters in exchange for an oath of allegiance and a period of alternate service; then on 21 January 1977, President James Earl Carter pardoned certain civilians convicted of Selective Service Act omissions and crimes committed during the period of the Vietnam War (4 Aug 1964 - 28 March 1973), but military and government persons were exempt from this proclamation.
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by Terry Presgrove
... who is a decorated Marine combat veteran and freelance writer, and whose poetic inspiration dates from the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. The Vietnam Quatrain comprises The Revolving Door, The Morning After, The Stolen Key [Locked In Stone], and What A Shame. Specimens of his other work may be accessed at his website.