Our barrack is a long wooden structure with a tin roof. It's built on a concrete slab and has sand bags stacked against the sides. It houses our air-conditioned day room and our sleeping cubicles. A hall with doors front and back separates the day room and sleeping cubicles. On the left side of the hall are the rifle rack and the mission board.
In the hall, I run into Sergeant Smith. He's just back from a mission. His behavior is different. He seems out of control. He says; "They got us when we were just getting up." Apparently, the unit he was with got hit very hard. Sergeant Smith is caught. He's supposed to go on another mission in about a week when his name comes to the top of the list. I tell him; "You've got to go back." He says; "The guy next to me got blown in half." I want him to go on his next mission, it should not end like this for him. I say; "You've got to go back." He continues to describe what happened and I continue to say; "You've got to go back." Sergeant Smith is terrified, what I say has no affect. I say; "Maybe you can get a medical profile."
I'm surprised by how congruent, how sincere I am. I like Sergeant Smith. I want him to stay an active dog handler at least a little longer. I know; if he does not master this event he will be marked by it.
Between missions, a bunch of us go to Vung Tau or Saigon.
Vung Tau has a beach, a hill, a fishing harbor and neighborhoods.
Saigon has a USO (with telephone service to the U.S.), a zoo, a museum, shops and all the institutions of a large city. Both places have tropical weather and buildings from the French colonial period.
Pictures do not convey the feeling of air on a sunny, tropical morning.
Often, children approach us. They are curious and friendly.
Lighthouse on top of the hill.
Yours truly, on the hillside at Vung Tau. Helicopter, island and GIs on the beach.
This is a link. One of the first charities to capture my imagination; Started a half-century ago by Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author Pearl S. Buck, with home office in Pennsylvania, Pearl S. Buck International works primarily in Asia and now serves more than 100,000 children. "The children of Vietnam are served through a country office in Hanoi and a branch office in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)." "Nutritional supplements are provided to children at three orphanages", "school fees, textbooks, uniforms, insurance and other education-related assistance" "inter-country adoption process. PSBI looks forward to renewed placement efforts on behalf of Vietnam's orphaned children".
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