Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam Page #2

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"Dear Vern,

I talked to Danny,

the man who lost his leg

this morning.

He's a mean bastard.

I've never seen such

bravery and guts before,

and I'm stunned by it.

You should have seen

my men fight.

They were going after wounded men

no one else'd go after.

You should have seen

my brave men.

It'd give you

goose-pimples."

This is Cam Ranh Bay

on the South China Sea.

It is said to be one of the finest

natural harbors in the world.

It will in time be

the chief port of entry

for American men

and materiel in Vietnam.

It is taking on

a look of permanence.

And the activity going on

all around

suggests that

we have recognized

there is not going to be

an easy, painless

or quick way

out of this struggle.

And so, during the past year

our military forces

have grown from 25,000

to nearly 200,000 men.

The possibility of 300,000 men

here by spring

is now considered likely.

"Dear folks, car, bird,

house, et cetera,

new jungle fatigues,

boots, cooling fans,

typewriters, napkins,

silverware,

grass seeds,

all trickle into supply

and are dispersed

as needed.

Jeez, you know,

this is an 'in' war,

one of the hippest things

in this whole world.

I've read where officers

were quoted as saying,

'This is the only war

we've got.

Don't knock it.'

This war is not going to end

by any one single battle

or combination of battles.

It could be a situation

that could drag out for some time.

Certainly, as the war gets

more intense...

and I feel that it will

in coming the months...

we will suffer

more American casualties.

"Dearest Bev,

last night we had the V.C.

all around us.

Bev, don't ever tell

Mother this,

but at times I feel

I will never come home.

The V.C. are getting

much stronger.

So I think this war is going to get

worse before it gets better.

The days

are fairly peaceful.

But the nights

are pure hell.

I look up at the stars

and it's so hard to believe

that the same stars shine over you

in such a different world

as you live in.

All my love, Al."

"Hello, dear folks.

It's going to be hard

for me to write this,

but maybe it will make me

feel better.

Yesterday

my company was hit

while looking for V.C.

They told me that they needed

someone to identify a boy

they'd just brought in.

It was very bad they said.

So I went into the tent

and there on the table

was the boy.

His face was all cut up

and blood all over it.

His mouth was open.

His eyes were both open.

It was a mess.

I couldn't really

identify him.

So I went outside

while they went through

his stuff.

They found his I.D. card

and dog tags.

I went in and they told me

his name...

Rankin."

"I cried, 'No, God,

it can't be.'

But sure enough,

after looking

at his bloody face again,

I could see it was him.

It really hit me hard

because he was one

of the nicest guys around.

He was

one of my good friends.

No other K.I.A. or W.I.A.

hit me like that.

I knew most of them,

but this was the first body

I ever saw.

And being my friend,

it was too much.

After I left the place

I sat down and cried.

I couldn't stop it.

I didn't think I ever cried

so much in my life.

I can still see

his face now.

I'll never forget it.

Today the heavens

cried for him.

It started raining

at noon today

and has now

finally just stopped

after 10 hours of the hardest rain

I've ever seen.

Love, Richard."

What we've just seen,

men fighting for their lives

in the jungles

of South Vietnam,

is what has aroused

such apprehension and debate

throughout the world.

War is brutal,

and the reaction to it is strong.

This week hundreds of people

demonstrated against it.

Others have voiced

their concern by question and dissent.

Public opinion polls

indicate

that the dissenters are

in the minority,

but their number

is growing,

and they are starting

to take more positive actions.

On Saturday,

a march to show solidarity

with American servicemen

in Vietnam was held in New York City.

The marchers carried

American flags.

Flags were hung

from apartment house windows.

Against this background

the battle continues,

and in it this week,

274 Americans were killed,

1,748 wounded,

18 listed as missing.

There's no end to the war

in sight.

"Dear Ma,

Vietnam has my feelings

on a seesaw.

This country is

so beautiful.

When the sun is shining

on the mountains,

farmers in their rice paddies

with their water buffalo,

and palm trees,

monkeys, birds,

and even

the strange insects,

for a fleeting moment

I'm not in a war zone at all,

just on vacation.

But still missing you

and the family.

There are a few kids

who hang around,

some with no parents.

I feel so sorry

for them.

I do things to make them laugh,

and they call me 'dinky dau.'

That means crazy."

- Okay!

- Okay!

"I hope that's one reason

why we're here,

to secure

a future for them.

Your son, George."

"Dear Mom and Dad,

you know that joke about

how hard it is to tell

the good guys

from the bad guys over here?

Well, it's funny in Bronxville

or Dorset, but it isn't over here.

The enemy in our area

of operation

is a farmer by day

and V.C. by night.

Every man we pick up says,

'Me Vietnamese number one.

V.C. number 10.'

So we have to let him go.

By the way,

number one means real good,

and number 10

means real bad.

Other handy phrases are:

'titi,' very little;,

'boo koo,'

which means very much;

'didi mow,'

get out of here.

What more do you need

to know?"

Didi mow.

Go, go.

"Love always, Mike."

Roger.

1st Battalion's coming in.

All right!

Come on, get out of here.

Come on, get up!

"Dear Red,

the frightening thing

about it all

is that it's so very easy

to kill in war.

There's no remorse,

no theatrical washing of the hands

to get rid of non-existent blood,

not even any regrets.

Get killed because

that little son of a b*tch

is doing his best

to kill you?

When it happens you're more afraid

than you've ever been in your life.

And you desperately

want to live

to go home,

to get drunk,

or walk down the street

on a date again."

"Dear Mom and Dad,

1st Cavalry moved in here

a few weeks ago,

and what a rowdy bunch.

These guys have been out

in the mud in the boonies for months.

They just wandered around

staring at everything,

trying out all

the chairs,

flushing the toilets.

It was funny to watch."

"But I guess when you've had

to do without clean clothes,

good food and shelter

for as long as they have

you might believe

your eyes either.

Oh, God, it must be awful

for them out there.

Love always, me."

"Dear Mom and Dad,

and everyone...

oh, I had my first baptizing

with Saigon tea."

"This is the usual approach

of a bar hog.

You walk in and sit down

at the bar.

Before you get to order a drink,

a girl will be sitting next to you

and she'll begin with...

'Hello, what is your name?

Would you like a drink?'

You order one.

Then she'll say,

'I've not see you here before.

You're very handsome.

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