Let me tell you the story Of a brave young pilot Who served in ol' Vietnam He was a man most hated By the Victor Charlies Though he carried not a single bomb Well, this handsome young captain Reported to the major A forward air controller was he They gave him an O-1 And sent him into battle To see what he could see So he climbed into his Cessna And he headed into battle With his rockets tucked snug beneath his wings When a cry came from that ground commander Charlie’s got us in his ring Well did he ever return? No, he never returned And his fate is still unlearned. Poor ol' FAC He may lie forever in that Vietnam jungle He's the FAC who never returned Oh, the ceiling was low, and the rain was falling His Birddog was pitching all about But he said to that soldier, no sweat brother FAC air will get you out Soon the fighters arrived They were F-100's They called down to our FAC

He told them it was rough But to follow his directions And this one they could hack Now, Charlie didn't like the sight of that Birddog And the bullets begin to fly He said if that airman brings in those fighters Then he is going to die Well, did he ever return? No, he never returned And his fate is still unlearned. Poor ol' FAC He may lie forever in that Vietnam jungle He's the FAC who never returned Oh, the leader rolled in and he ask for his target The FAC told him where to aim his gun With unerring eyes, they smoked those Charlies They had them on the run Oh, the battle was hot, and it was too much for Charlie Soldiers begin to shout God bless you fighters for saving our asses And driving those V.C. out Well, no one noticed that crippled Cessna As he made his final bow For one of those bullets had found it's target And Charlie had kept his vow Well, did he ever return? No, he never returned And his fate is still unlearned.  Poor ol' FAC He may lie forever in that Vietnam jungle He's the FAC who never returned He's the FAC who never returned Lyrics transcribed by Mike Stahl