Dear Momma,
I’ve been thinking about you. Pray for me, won’t you? I always used to think that you could read my thoughts...but even if you can’t, I hope you understand what life is like here in South Vietnam. Before he was assassinated, our president John Kennedy said in a speech: “The people who say we should withdraw from Vietnam are totally wrong, because if we withdraw from Vietnam the Communists will control all of south-east Asia, then India and Burma will be next.” Momma, if only you knew who these people are! They’re the enemies of America. In the Marines we call them the “Vietcong.” They’re spreading guerrilla warfare all throughout South Vietnam. They hide out in the jungles, and sometimes Ethan and me have to take cover when they start firing their AK47s. Did I tell you about Ethan? He’s a buddy of mine from New Zealand. He joined the war as a volunteer. He says he’ll never let south Asia turn communist. He’s a true-blue capitalist, and he loves anything that comes out of America, especially the Marlboros and sticks of Wrigley’s gum I give him. He and I are good friends now. Sometimes at night, before we bed down in the jungle, we have a contest to see who can blow the biggest bubble. That’s right, mom, that’s how it is in Vietnam. Sometimes you just need to clear your head. Ethan’s even decided he wants to collect an enemy skull. It’ll be like our own little ace of spades. All the US marines wear those cards in the helmets, or carry them during combat missions. In Vietnam the ace of spades means death. Ethan and me always leave one of those cards on the body of any VC we kill. The communists are sneaky, though. They’ve planted mines all through the jungle. The bouncing Betties are the worst. You so much as step on one and you’ll know just how cruel the Vietcong are. The bouncing Betty has a three-pronged charge, see, and if you step on it you better not lift your foot up again, otherwise, you know what it does, mom? It blows you up, and then you get the ace of spades for sure. Dead in Vietnam. You gotta be careful out here in the jungle. The Vietcong is a fierce and savage enemy.
I get to use an enemy gun to kill VC. It’s a brand new AK47, a real commie weapon. The White House sends us M14s, but those spud guns jam up halfway through a fire fight. The worst gun you could ever bring to a jungle. Using one of them is another way to get yourself an ace of spades. This war is tearing Vietnam to shreds. The villagers here can’t take any more of sheltering the VC. They hide everywhere, and spring out from nowhere to attack American troops. They’re like ghosts out there in the jungle. We can never tell exactly where they are – that’s why the US army brought in the “people sniffers.” Operation Snoopy, we call it. Ethan and I carry these backpacks, supposed to be able to sniff out human sweat or urine. Only problem is, sometimes it gives back false readings, and then we end up attacking civilians or farm animals.
This war is hell. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it home. Sometimes I think about the wheels of a big old B52 touching down on an American runway. Until they hit the tarmac, this war won’t be over for me.
Alan Alfredo Geday
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