Words to the Infamous Covey/Nail FAC song

By Darrel Whitcomb

[We hope to have music to this song available for download soon – Merlin]“Dear Mom, Your Son Is Dead” is one of the most famous of all FAC-related songs and reflects the fact that being a FAC was one of the most dangerous jobs in the entire military. Here are the words, provided by Darrel Whitcomb (Nail 25)

DEAR MOM, YOUR SON IS DEAD

Chorus

Dear Mom, your son is dead,
He bought the farm today.
He crashed his OV-10
On Ho Chi Minh’s Highway
He made a rocket pass
And then he busted his ass
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

Verse 1

He went across the Fence
To see what he could see.
And there it was,
As plain as it could be.
There was a truck on the road
With a big heavy load
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

Verse 2

He got right on the horn
And gave ol’ Big a call
“Send me air, I’ve got a truck that’s stalled
And Big, he said “Alright,
I’ll send you Litter flight.
For I have the power.”

Verse 3

The fighters checked right in,
Gunfighters two by two.
Low on gas and tanker overdue.
They asked the FAC to mark
Right where the truck was parked.
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

Verse 4

The FAC, he rolled right in
With his smoke to mark
Exactly where that truck was parked.
The rest is still in doubt,
For he never pulled out.
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

Dear Mom, your son is dead,
He bought the farm today.
He crashed his OV-10
On Ho Chi Minh’s Highway
He made a rocket pass,
And then he busted his ass
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

How did he go?

Straight in!

What was he doing?

351!

—————-
Notes:

He crashed his OV-10
On Ho Chi Minh’s Highway

Is sometimes sung as:

He crashed his O-2A
On the 99 highway.

This was a spur of the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Big was the DASC in the I Corps area.

“The Fence” was the border between SVN and Laos or the border between Thailand and Laos.

This song was sung by the FACs who worked the Ho Chi Minh Trail. I don’t know who wrote it or when. It just kind of evolved, and became the anthem for the Trail FAC guys, first at Da Nang (Coveys), and then at NKP (Nails).

Darrel Whitcomb