Norman Morrison

Now, maybe some U.S. citizens over 65
Remember the name “Norman Morrison”

But many people in Vietnam of all ages
Know that name

This young Quaker immolated himself in 1965
Deliberately close to Robert McNamara’s office window at the Pentagon

(Two years earlier Thich Quang Duc did the same act in Saigon
To protest the repression inflicted on the Buddhists)

One Vietnamese person said “We were such a tiny little country
It was like a gnat fighting an elephant

But someone from that huge country
Cared enough for us that he gave his life for us”

Now, gnats are still fighting an elephant
Or haven’t we noticed?


Source: Christian Appy, Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides