The Ballad of Ken Perry*
© 1970 Glenn Ford Perry


In Middletown(1) where he was born,
We, who knew Kenny, now morn.
Up and down Orchard Street, the papers passed,
Now up the walk he comes at last.

The newsbag droops empty on his shoulder,
And never a hat even when colder.
Sweat shirt and sneakers like a trade mark
Are greeted by Scooter’s(2) friendly bark.

I’m standing on the steps as he goes by,
Nods his blond head and says, “Hi”.
Paul and Scotty(3) remember more.
The spinner games(4) they played by the score.

Climbed the tree and played in the sand.
Played Knothole and basketball until he was tan.
Wrestled his brother and sister too,
Always lost, but pouts were few.

High school was easy, and Hi-Y a cheer.
Marvin and Bruce(3) were generally near.
Tar Hollow(5) and Miami U.,
Places he loved and knew.

Now Ken is training to do what he must.
The peace conference is our hope and trust.
He asks to be sent to Vietnam.
Why? He says, “I am what I am.”

I remember his last day at home,
He seemed restless and ready to roam.
I took his picture, a handsome lad.
Six feet two and he made me glad.

I watched him carefully all that day,
At the airport we sent him on his way.
His mother cried and kissed him goodbye.
I shook his hand and watched the sky.

Letters came from Fire Base Chris.
Mortar training, friends made, and deceitful bliss.
A quick trip to the PX in Saigon;
A highlight in months of boredom.

“The days are hot, the mosquitoes come at nights.”
Not complaining, just facts he writes.
“Dear Mom and dear Pa,” writes he,
Once a week or more, “Love, K.P.”

Many pictures come, peaceful, beautiful sky,
Villages, natives and the river passing by.
Then a picture of a copter showing its might,
Lifting away the radar tower to another site6.

The men move out and Chris is no more.
We get this news and wonder what is in store?
Northeast of Saigon is Fire Base Libby
Search and destroy to protect the city.

Plans for home and the comforts of life
Fill the letters, no mention of strife.
Ken has a watch and a camera new,
A radio will be bought later too.

“I’d like a chocolate cake for my birthday, ha ha.”
Perry they call him, is twenty-one today, la la.
Promotion now to Specialist Four,
It gave him joy, and the pay is more.

“Less than 180 days to go! Wow!
It’s all down hill now!”
“We search in vain,” and at home we hope so.
The soldiers write pleasant things, later we know.

“In the jungle to munch, where sweets are nil,
Power House candy bars would fill the bill.”
The last requests(7), the last letters from our boy,
Three came that week to give us joy.

Twenty-one years, one month, six days.
Perry led the attack into the blaze.
“A” Company(8) was making a sweep,
4th Platoon the lead did keep.

Into jungle from a bean field,
Beside their bunker the enemy prepares a meal.
Contact is made and the Platoon is pinned down.
“A” squad is sent to flank around.

The flank squad is spotted, black looks their fate;
The company is coming, but will be too late.
The situation demands positive action now.
The bunker must be taken somehow.

“Let’s go, our buddies are out there.”
Perry leads the frontal attack, cover is bare.
The battle for the bunker is bravely fought.
Perry and another boy have given what can’t be bought.

An Oak Leaf Cluster for the Bronze Star medal
Was awarded posthumously for his nettle.
He gave his all for a country unconcerned.
Business as usual, strikers and rioters at every turn.

The peace conferees, meetings keep,
At their “long debated table” (9) they sleep.
Idealistic, a better world to make,
Ken had hoped to give, not take.

Now in reflection, it’s hard to see.
Is the world a better place to be?
The answer is no, I fear,
And for all the Ken Perrys(10) I shed a tear.


1 Ohio
2 Scooter, the family pet dog.
3 Childhood neighbor friends.
4 Ken liked all games; he would play by himself taking both sides.
5 Church camp.
6 Fire Base Chris south of Saigon is deactivated and the men move out.
7 Send some Power House candy bars was one of his last requests. They were not sent in time.
8 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade.
9 The conference did not get started for many days because the conferees could not agree on the shape of the table.
10 58,193 as of December 1998.

* Kenneth Lee Perry was born on August 13, 1948 in Middletown, Ohio. He was killed in action in Vietnam on September 19, 1969.