A fellow member of the platoon wrote a verse about a friendly fire incident the two had survived. They mixed in background sound effects of explosions and machine-gun fire and recorded a hip-hop song they called "Combat Zone."

"We in a combat zone/The only thing we can think about is making it home/They keep on extending us/We done been here too long/Wake up one day and then the next day you gone."

The song is included on the first CD of a new record label reserved for past and present members of the military.

Sean Gilfillan and Sidney DeMello, Rhode Island natives behind To The Fallen Records, based in Newport, were eager to give musically inclined troops a vehicle for expression — and expose civilians back home to the realities of military life.

The 14 hip-hop tracks on the CD mix sobering reflections on war with thumping rap beats and catchy choruses. Rock and country songs will step forward on future releases.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070702/ap_on_re_us/apn_rhythms_of_war