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Friends (Chapter 6) Lyrics by Tim O’Brien (Author)

The Things They Carried

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Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk did not become instant buddies, but they did learn to trust each other. Over the next month they often teamed up on ambushes. They covered each other on patrol, shared a foxhole, took turns pulling guard at night. In late August they made a pact that if one of them should ever get totally rucked up—a wheelchair wound—the other guy would automatically find a way to end it. As far as I could tell they were serious. They drew it up on paper, signing their names and asking a couple of guys to act as witnesses. And then in October Lee Strunk stepped on a rigged mortar round. It took off his right leg at the knee. He managed a funny little half step, like a hop, then he tilted sideways and dropped. "Oh, damn," he said. For a while he kept on saying it, "Damn oh damn," as if he'd stubbed a toe. Then he panicked. He tried to get up and run, but there was nothing left to run on. He fell hard. The stump of his right leg was twitching. There were slivers of bone, and the blood came in quick spurts like water from a pump. He seemed bewildered. He reached down as if to massage his missing leg, then he passed out, and Rat Kiley put on a tourniquet and administered morphine and ran plasma into him.
There was nothing much anybody could do except wait for the dustoff. After we'd secured an LZ, Dave Jensen went over and kneeled at Strunk's side. The stump had stopped twitching now. For a time there was some question as to whether Strunk was still alive, but then he opened his eyes and looked up at Dave Jensen. "Oh, Jesus," he said, and moaned, and tried to slide away and said, "Jesus, man, don't kill me."
"Relax," Jensen said.
Lee Strunk seemed groggy and confused. He lay still for a second and then motioned toward his leg. "Really, it's not so bad, Not terrible. Hey, really—they can sew it back on—really."
"Right, I'll bet they can."
"You think?"
"Sure I do."
Strunk frowned at the sky. He passed out again, then woke up and said, "Don't kill me."
"I won't," Jensen said.
"I'm serious."
"Sure."
"But you got to promise. Swear it to me—swear you won't kill me."
Jensen nodded and said, "I swear," and then a little later we carried Strunk to the dustoff chopper. Jensen reached out and touched the good leg. "Go on now," he said. Later we heard that Strunk died somewhere over Chu Lai, which seemed to relieve Dave Jensen of an enormous weight.
Credits
Tim O’Brien (Author)

Tim O’Brien (Author)

About “Friends (Chapter 6)” by Tim O’Brien (Author)

Read the complete lyrics to "Friends (Chapter 6)" by Tim O’Brien (Author) from the album "The Things They Carried". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"Friends (Chapter 6)" is performed by Tim O’Brien (Author). from the album "The Things They Carried" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Friends (Chapter 6)", explore more songs by Tim O’Brien (Author) using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Friends (Chapter 6)" is credited to Tim O’Brien (Author). Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Friends (Chapter 6)" appears on "The Things They Carried".

Visit the Tim O’Brien (Author) artist page at /artist/tim-obrien-author for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.