As a combat veteran of the war, I'm surpirsed that no one has listed John Prine's "The Ballad of Sam Stone"

The Ballad Of Sam Stone

    * (John Prine)

      Chorus:
      There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
      Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose
      Little pitchers have big ears, don't stop to count the years
      Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

      Sam Stone came home to his wife and family
      After serving in the conflict overseas
      And the time he had served had shattered all his nerves
      And left a little shrapnel in his knee
      But morphine eased the pain, and the grass grew round his brain
      And gave him all the confidence he lacked
      With a Purple Heart, and a monkey on his back

      Sam Stone's welcome home didn't last too long
      He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
      So Sam took to stealing when he got that empty feeling
      For a hundred-dollar habit, without overtime
      But the gold flowed through his veins like a thousand railroad trains
      And eased his mind in the hours that he chose
      While his kids ran round wearing other people's clothes

      Sam Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon
      Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
      And he played his last request while the room just smelled like death
      With an overdose hovering in the air
      You see, life had lost its fun, there was nothing to be done
      But trade his house he'd borrowed on the G.I. bill
      For a flag-draped casket on the local heroes' hill