Family History – Vietnam at the End

Joe AuBuchon

In 1975 my brother was in Vietnam. A few days ago I found one of my mom’s old photo albums. It is full of pictures of my brother’s family–Tomoko, George, Mari and mom. At the back of the album was a typewritten letter she received from John after he had been evacuated from Saigon. I do not know if she received the letter before or after we knew he was safe:

Sunday 20 [April 20, 1975]

Hi Mom,

It looks as though this will be my last letter from Vietnam. Things are about as tight as they can get and we have orders to pull the plug. Am sure the full-scale evacuation will be under way before this letter reaches you. RVA and VC forces have Saigon surrounded and have been sighted no less than 8 miles from Tan Son Nhut. They have 130mm cannons and artillery pieces which are American made and very accurate up to 17 miles and this is what we are most afraid of besides their SA-7 missiles.

There are however a tremendous contingent of American forces spread throughout the Pacific and SouthEast Asia for our support. Four Aircraft Carriers alone are waiting off Vung Tau. Think Congress would faint if they knew the extent of this military support.

However, our real enemy seems to be the ARVNs. They are trying to keep the mass evacuation as quiet as possible in order to stop panic and to prevent another Da Nang. Intelligence reported 2 weeks ago that the Vietnamese would try and stop and shoot down departing American Planes! The part where most people will have trouble is getting to the pick-up points when the evacuation occurs. Sure would hate to be on the streets then. Don’t have to worry though as will move into Comm Center here on Tan Son Nhut Tomorrow. We will be picked up by helicopter as soon as alll the equipment is destroyed. Expect this to be Wed or so.

Sent my duffle bag full of cloths to Joyce’s yesterday so all I have is my briefcase and flight bag to carry if I can.

Thats about it for awhile mom. Please don’t write any more and will get in touch as soon as I can.

Love John

–Spelling and punctuation copied from John’s original pre-spell/grammar check letter–

He was safely evacuated to a waiting US aircraft carrier on April 25, 1975. As he told the story, on the last helicopter from Tan Son Nhut and as a VC rocket blew up the building as he left it for the helicopter.

Reading Old in the Summer

Joe AuBuchon

We are now well into summer–prime reading time. The days are long and getting shorter. It’s vacation time and my wife does not have to go back to work in August–she’s now retired.

Yesterday we went to Barnes and Noble and she stocked up on books (to go along with those still unread from her stock up a couple of weeks ago). I, however, am out of new books to read. Well, I am out of books I currently own that I haven’t yet read, and there are no new current hardcovers that I want to read enough to pay hardcover prices–I’ll wait for them to come out in paperback.

So, I went into our garage and the double stacked bookshelves I built some twenty-five years ago–and I found some things to re-read:

  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov. In my humble opinion (and those of you who know me know exactly just how humble my opinion is) it is the best of Asimov’s books. Truly imaginative and truly alien aliens. I like it the best of all of his books I’ve read (and I’ve read most, if not all of them).
  • The Birthgrave by Tanith Lee. I first read this book and the others in its series (Vazkor, Son of Vazkor and Quest for the White Witch) in the mid to late 70s. I’ve completely forgotten their storylines, plots and characters. Gee, “new” books and I don’t even need to go out and buy them!
  • Night’s Master by Tanith Lee. I first read this book and the others in its series–Flat Earth (Death’s Master, Delusion’s Master, Delirium’s Mistress and Night’s Sorceries) in the late 70s to mid-80s. If I can find Night’s Sorceries in the garage, I’ll have another set of “new” books to read without buying them.
  • Merovingen Nights Series by C. J. Cherryh (the complete series) I also found the Fortress, Morgaine & Vanye and Faded Sun series.
  • E. E. “Doc” Smith: Lensman and Skylark series. I couldn’t find any of my Family D’Alembert books.
  • I even found my Cities in Space books by James Blish.

Maybe these will carry me for a few weeks as I await Alliance of Equals and The Gathering Edge by Lee & Miller and X by Sue Grafton. At least, I don’t have to wait a year of two for X, just a couple of months.

Ah, yes, still plenty to read.

NOTE to Glen Cook: I’m still waiting for A Pitiless Rain and Port of Shadows–hint, hint, HINT!

Random Thoughts on a Friday Afternoon

Joe AuBuchon

Random Thoughts–well, sort of random.

The Confederate Flag has been in the news this past week as a result of the murders of nine people in Charleston, SC. On a website registered to the accused murderer he was seen with a “Confederate Battle Flag.”

During its short history, the CSA had several flags. Its first official flag–the “Stars and Bars” (right)–looked

Confederate Flag - 1861-1863
Confederate Flag – 1861-1863

a great deal like the “Stars and Stripes” and caused some confusion of the battlefield. It was changed in 1863 to incorporate the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia in the place of the blue field and stars with the remainder of the flag being white. Eventually a large vertical red bar was added on the right.

Confederate "Battle" Flag
Confederate “Battle” Flag

What many think of as the “Confederate Flag” was the square battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia or the rectangular Confederate Navy Jack and the battle flag of the Army of Tennessee (left).

Perhaps it is time to retire this (these) flags from official and commercial sanction. For many in this country these flags stir memories of slavery and murder that are better left to our past.

There are those who say that these flags represent their history and heritage. Perhaps, they do. They have a right to fly them. Perhaps, they do. But these flags also represent slavery, cruelty, discrimination and murder to many of us. Perhaps, we should consider their feelings.

When the option presents itself, how about choosing to be kind?

“Gay” Marriage

This week the United States Supreme Court in a majority decision–not a unanimous decision–legalized same-sex marriage throughout our country. You know what? It’s not the end of the world.

I grew up in a era when homosexuality was considered by my church and parents to be a sin–in may places it was (and still is) a crime.

I’ve had students who are homosexual; I’ve had neighbors who are homosexual; I’ve had colleagues who are homosexual. You know what? It doesn’t make a dime’s bit of difference.

If they love each other, they can now get married and have (be) a family. All they want is to exercise the same rights and responsibilities as the “straight” community–they don’t want to convert you.

Get over it–spread Peace and Love not Hate.

Affordable Care Act–Obamacare

The Supreme Court also ruled this week on the ACA and the necessity of state health exchanges. This was, and still seems to be a deeply dividing issue. Compare the editorial and op-ed comments in the Orange County Register (anti) and the Los Angeles Times (pro).

Gee, now people in all of the US can get “affordable” medical care, subsidized if necessary. Those states which refused to set up health exchanges in order to keep people from getting this care are out of luck.

Bummer, huh?

The Supreme Court decided to go with the intent and spirit of the law rather than the “state health exchanges” wording. Good decision. Of course, Congress should go back and change the wording of the law. Who knows what might happen if a Republican president (with a Republican congress) comes along and appoints more justices opposed to the majority decision. Another case and this time a reversal of the decision.

After all, we are not governed by laws but by people.

 

Just a Quick Thought

Joe AuBuchon

I just did my morning Facebook check before launching into my CWPs and math puzzles.

A friend of mine posted a LIKE to a photo from the “Peaceful Warrior.”

I believe that this is a reflection of why we have so much trouble with violence and war, and why we cannot seem to stop hurting and killing each other.

For Example:

  • Peaceful Warrior
  • Love is the weapon . . .
  • Holy War
  • Love is a Battlefield
  • Onward Christian Soldiers – from followers of a man who preached love and turning the other cheek

Human beings have extensive skills with regard to pattern recognition. We see pictures in clouds and ink blots. We connect dot-to-dot puzzles. We see oases in deserts far from any source of water, and we see bears and crabs wandering the night skies.

I wonder, is the pattern I see in our brains that is reflected in our words real or is it just another mirage?

. . . just a thought . . .

 

English Exercise

Joe AuBuchon

Picked up several books at Camelot (used book store) today. Among them was Sue Grafton’s W is for Wasted. Looking at the list of her titles in the Kinsey Millhone series, I was reminded of an exercise I used to assign my seventh graders back in those days when I taught spelling, vocabulary and grammar. (May they never return.)

I’d have the kids write sentences using the words for the week–real imaginative, huh? Some of the sentences had to use two or more of the week’s words. For example: outlaw, evidence, innocent, alibi. Although the outlaw had an ironclad alibi, the evidence showed that she was not innocent and that her accomplice had given perjured testimony.

They could change nouns to adjectives to verbs to adverbs, etc. I also gave them a chance to stump me by “throwing” a bunch of words at me and seeing if I could do it on the fly. I don’t remember ever being stumped, but that could be memory’s ego talking. I do remember stretching things, especially when they’d have me do the whole list, mixed up of course, in a single go.

Well, here goes: The alibi the shapely burglar used was insufficient to save her from becoming a corpse as the deadbeat hodad’s board had evidently hidden a gumshoe of homicidal intent who was bent on blowing away the less than innocent as she passed judgment on the killer whose lawless sense of malice acted as a noose around the neck of the outlaw Pauline who realized that her continued existence was in peril as she was the quarry of the bullet ricocheting off the seawall which in its lack of silence was trespassing the pacific surfline and catching her in the undertow of its vengeance and wasted away her life in the uncaring sand.

Ah, well, the Angels won–on to Chapter 4.