They didn’t dislike Edwin Starr’s “War,” but they didn’t need to hear about what they were living. More than anything, they pined for the women they’d left behind. Again and again, their memories gravitated to “My Girl” or “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” The Box Tops’ “The Letter” resonated with lonely young men hoping they’d hear their names at the next mail call; Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” connected with guys who’d trudged endless miles through hostile terrain. Her pin-up girl good looks didn’t hurt. Any song about going home: Bobby Bare’s “Detroit City,” the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Jimmy Mack,” and above all what one veteran termed the “Vietnam Vets’ National Anthem,” The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”
