Toby Hughes and Chip Dockery are two of the finest lyricists ever produced by the U. S. military. They are pioneers of the genre of military folk music. Along with their musical talent, goes unquestionable credibility. Both are air combat veterans of the U. S. Air Force in the Vietnam War. What they lived through on a daily basis gave them something to say about the American fighting man. The songs that they write and sing give to those who’ve never been shot at a profound understanding of what it means to go into battle against an enemy bent on your destruction. Granted, military folk ballads have been part of the American musical scene since we have been a country. But, while a few of the early balladeers stood in harm’s way defending this great land, it was not until the twentieth century when the preponderance of the war ballads came to be authored by men and women in uniform. Today, the songs pour out of the hearts and souls of those brave heroes who go repeatedly into the face of the enemy. It is those bold and credible warrior musicians who validate the proper place of this unique cultural art form in American music. Toby Hughes and Chip Dockery have contributed greatly to the American musical institution of military folk.