The story of the journeyman soldier in Vietnam is well told in this simple unaccredited poem called The Traveller and the experiences of others.

Now when a man his life begins
His dreams of all the wondrous things
Of travel to the faraway
And ways and means to get more pay

He little knows the fates in store
When he walks through that awesome door
It says in letters sharp and clear
"National Service Call-up here"

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For now that gruelling trial begins
He oozes sweat, his body thins
And comes the day his training ends
He stands erect, a man 'mong men

The dreams he had of faraway
Of travel to the lands of play
Are suddenly brought close to hand
Your posting sir, to Vietnam

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That wondrous place where life's aglow
Of pedicabs and buffalo
The plaintive sweet refrain of horns
The paddy fields and trees of thorns

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He comes naive to Nui Dat
With all the hills he wished were flat
He trudges through the dust and grime
And curses rain that makes it shine

The drenching rain so black and sleet
That soaks the ground beneath his feet
The dream he had of faraway
Reverse now, the other way.