John performed Thursday with Six-String Soldiers of the U.S. Army Field Band in a salute to veterans at the North Las VA Medical Center to mark National POW-MIA Recognition Day. | John Fogerty

John Fogerty wrote “Fortunate Son” in 1969 as the Vietnam War exposed sharp divides between social classes. Watching privileged families secure draft deferments for their sons while poorer kids were sent to the front fueled his frustration. That inequality became the core message of the song. Fogerty captured his anger in a single burst of writing, channeling the resentment many Americans felt toward a system that protected the wealthy. Released by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the song quickly