Volcano
“I Am a Volcano” is a song about a mountain that remembers what people forget.
This track is inspired by Firebase Ripcord, one of the most brutal and least‑spoken battles of the Vietnam War. For 23 days in July 1970, young Americans of the 101st Airborne fought for a lonely ridge in the A Shau Valley — a place so remote and so unforgiving that even the jungle seemed to resist their presence. They were surrounded, shelled, ambushed, and hit from every angle by determined PAVN forces who saw Ripcord as a gateway to the valley and a symbol of their own endurance. The is an allegorical piece not witness testimony so I encourage self exploration of the links below.
Ripcord never became a household name partially due to government suppression of reporting. It never got the documentaries, the monuments, or the speeches.
But the men who bravely fought there remember probably every second.
Three U.S. servicemen were lost on the firebase itself — SP4 Michael R. Johnson, SP4 James R. McMahon, and PFC James R. Shipman — and many more fell in the valley around it. Their names are carved into the stone of that mountain whether history mentions them or not. The PAVN soldiers who fought there, many barely older than the Americans, carried their own losses back into the jungle. Both sides left pieces of themselves on that ridge.
To the veterans who survived Ripcord:
You were young.
You were scared.
You were asked to do the impossible.
And you did it anyway.
This song is for you — for the ones who came home, for the ones who didn’t, and for the ones who still wake up with the valley in their dreams. It’s for the quiet grief, the unspoken memories, and the weight you’ve carried for far too long.
It’s also for the Vietnamese veterans who fought there.
Pain doesn’t belong to one uniform.
Loss doesn’t speak one language.
The mountain remembers all of you.
Today, Ripcord is just a ridge again — overgrown, silent, and still. But beneath the vines and the ash, the earth holds the stories of every soldier who stood there. This song imagines the mountain itself speaking: ancient voice, unwilling participant, and grieving for the boys who became part of its soil.
If you’re a veteran, especially one who served in Vietnam, I hope this piece gives you something — a moment of recognition, a breath of release, or simply the feeling that your story matters. Because it does. Ripcord may not be famous, but the courage shown there deserves to be remembered.
This is for the forgotten battles.
This is for the forgotten boys.
This is for the ones who carried the fire and came home with the ash.
Thank you for your service.
As always links to information if you would like to know more:
1. Fire Base Ripcord Association (Veteran‑run, definitive source)
Battle history, casualty list, reunions, photos, documents
https://www.ripcordassociation.com
2. “Facts About the Battle” — Why Ripcord Was Downplayed
Explains the media blackout, political pressure after Hamburger Hill, and casualty details
https://www.ripcordassociation.com/th...
3. KIA Casualty List — All 138 Americans Lost
Searchable list honoring every man who fell at Ripcord
https://www.ripcordassociation.com/ki...
4. Military Times — Historian’s Deep Investigation of Ripcord
James Smither’s 20‑year research project on the battle and its suppression
https://www.militarytimes.com/militar...
5. First‑hand pilot stories, the Chinook shoot‑down, ammo explosion, and evacuation
http://www.c158ahc.org/ripcord.html
Veteran support:
1. VA Vietnam Veterans Page
Agent Orange, disability claims, survivor support
https://www.va.gov/vietnam
2. Veterans Crisis Line (24/7)
Immediate help for veterans in crisis
https://www.veteranscrisisline.net
3. Veterans Recovery Network (Nonprofit)
Peer support, PTSD recovery, addiction recovery, online meetings
https://www.veteransrecoverynetwork.org
All music on this channel is original and fully owned by The Johnny Roxxer BMI-certified songwriter. AKA Johnny Roxxer & The Trouble Formerly the Johnny Roxxer Band. Some songs are crafted with the help of AI tools, but every idea, lyric, sound and final call is made by us — no spam, no shortcuts.