Drawing Cards
Bob Hope was coming to Vietnam, and one person in our squad was going to Bear Cat to see his show. Everyone was so excited! It was almost Christmas of 1967, and I had been in Vietnam for three months. We decided to make it fair, we would draw from a deck of cards, and whoever got the high card would go see Bob Hope. There was about ten of us in the squad at the time, and we each held our breath a picked a card. I know what you are thinking, why get so excited, over Bob Hope.
Let me explain, Bob Hope was great in his own right, but more importantly getting out of the boonies and back to a permanent base camp like Bear Cat was not only great it was desired for its relative safety. (Oh, it received a mortar attack every now and then, but it was unlikely to be overrun by the Viet Cong) Bear Cat had clubs where one could get a cold drink or a hamburger. Bear Cat even had an ice cream shop. In short, it was the closest thing we had to civilization. In my eight months in Vietnam, I guess I sent two weeks in Bear Cat all together. The rest of the time I was in the boonies.
However, I digress, back to the drawing of the high card. We each picked a card out of a deck of fifty-two. Doc drew a three, “Damn”, he said. Then Gunner drew a Queen, with a great big smile. So, it went until it came to my time to draw. I drew a damned deuce, the lowest card in the deck. Gomez won the draw, with an Ace of hearts. After he won the draw, Gomez did the most extraordinary thing, he came back later and offered to let me take his place. He said, “Binion, you have been here the longest in the squad, I want you to go to the show.” I told him, “Thanks, but you need to go, you won the draw, and you never give up a chance to get out of the boonies. How do you think I would feel if I went in your place and something happened to you while I was gone.”
He was forcing me to get too close. We mostly called each other by last names just to avoid getting too close. You just didn’t know how long it would be before a person you knew would get killed in that damned war. Today, after writing some of these stories about Vietnam, I realize that in fact, as hard as we tried we still became close. I mean when you depend on other people for your own survival, you cannot help but feel for them if something happens to them. Here is to all of those guys who were just like me, regardless of skin, ethnicity, politics or religion. We are (were) all just human, trying to stay human in an inhuman war. Live and learn; learn and live.
Let me explain, Bob Hope was great in his own right, but more importantly getting out of the boonies and back to a permanent base camp like Bear Cat was not only great it was desired for its relative safety. (Oh, it received a mortar attack every now and then, but it was unlikely to be overrun by the Viet Cong) Bear Cat had clubs where one could get a cold drink or a hamburger. Bear Cat even had an ice cream shop. In short, it was the closest thing we had to civilization. In my eight months in Vietnam, I guess I sent two weeks in Bear Cat all together. The rest of the time I was in the boonies.
However, I digress, back to the drawing of the high card. We each picked a card out of a deck of fifty-two. Doc drew a three, “Damn”, he said. Then Gunner drew a Queen, with a great big smile. So, it went until it came to my time to draw. I drew a damned deuce, the lowest card in the deck. Gomez won the draw, with an Ace of hearts. After he won the draw, Gomez did the most extraordinary thing, he came back later and offered to let me take his place. He said, “Binion, you have been here the longest in the squad, I want you to go to the show.” I told him, “Thanks, but you need to go, you won the draw, and you never give up a chance to get out of the boonies. How do you think I would feel if I went in your place and something happened to you while I was gone.”
He was forcing me to get too close. We mostly called each other by last names just to avoid getting too close. You just didn’t know how long it would be before a person you knew would get killed in that damned war. Today, after writing some of these stories about Vietnam, I realize that in fact, as hard as we tried we still became close. I mean when you depend on other people for your own survival, you cannot help but feel for them if something happens to them. Here is to all of those guys who were just like me, regardless of skin, ethnicity, politics or religion. We are (were) all just human, trying to stay human in an inhuman war. Live and learn; learn and live.
posted by 7horses | Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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