The General just gave me a medal oh I'm a sight for mom to see   But when the news gets round that I ain't got ole Bill   Some kids gonna think a whole lot less of me   You see she gave me that puppy and said he'd protect me through the night   And if I got hurt he'd go for help or he'd back me up in a fight   He growed all the while I was trainin' forget him I never will   Cause you'd never see me with right at my heels was Oklahoma Bill   We hit a long ridge one sunup and it seemed like death held all the cards   Cause we payed and payed with lives of men for every hard fought yard   When finally we drove up to the top there wasn't nothin' but death behind   And as we all dug in we all thanked God though we numbered only nine   And as the snipers switched their guns as darkness closed that hill   My soul companion in the night was Oklahoma Bill   There's no glory in a battle once you've seen its awful cost   But there's glory in the knowledge that your flag is never lost   And yet in the stillness of the nightime and all alone you hold a post   You start cryin' like a baby sittin' there with all the ghosts   You feel your buddies are pattin' your back though their guns're silent and still   It's only a dog tryin' to love you my Oklahoma Bill   I gave my note to the Colonel and I bound a shattered leg   And I said Bill we're sure in trouble he never whimpered or begged   I could tell he hated to leave me I was the only God he ever knew   But quick as a flash he took of through the night like a fightin' marine would do   I kept firin' till help finally came it was him though that saved that hill   A dyin' dog had got through the lines my Oklahoma Bill   That little ol' kid will always wonder what happened to her dog   But she'll find out on Judgement Day when she sees the big Skipper's log   We'll all walk in and bugles'll blow and we'll stand our last revue   And men who've died for men on earth will get their heavenly dues   And if all brave hearts are there that day I'll get my greatest thrill   When I hang this medal around the neck of Oklahoma Bill