Shaun Schipper

19 Years Old

I was born and raised in Crookston, Mn. I turned 18 Dec 1972 near the end of the Vietnam War. The draft ended in January 73.

Nam was raging through my high school years, the war was being televised nightly and as I neared 18 the possibility of getting drafted was on my mind.

I started thinking about Vietnam a lot just in the last few years more than at any other time in my life. I have watched and listened to a lot of documentaries hearing veterans accounts of the war.

These guys and gals were from my generation and those that fought the battles really went through hell. I like to write songs and I wrote a song "I'm an American Soldier" that was quite emotional for me a few years back. After about a year I decided to write about Nam.

I wrote five Vietnam related songs and recorded a CD called "Vietnam" at Black Label Music in Minneapolis. One of the songs I have on my CD is called "19 Years Old", this is probably about the age I would have been had I been drafted and served in the war.

The lines in the song that are the most emotional for me are: "What are we fighting for. I's so sick of war. I bet the guys on the other side want to go home like I do."

You know we demonize the guys we are fighting against, in Nam they were called gooks. We do that so it is easier to kill them. The enemy doesn't want to be out there fighting any more than we do. They have homes, families, loved ones and dreams and I would think the last place they would also want to be is in the killing fields.

I have had the honor of performing at veterans events. One of the highlights was performing my song "19 Years Old" at the Ground Blessing Ceremony for a new Vietnam Wall Memorial being built in Gilbert, Arizona in March of 2016. This Wall is going to be approx. 80% the size of the original Wall. I also read a poem I wrote "The Wall". It was a beautiful day and such a blessing to be part of the ceremony.

I salute all those men and women who sacrificed so much and served in Vietnam in what ever capacity they served. Blessings to you all!