The Kid
He told me he was sixteen. He looked fourteen. Officially, one had to be at least nineteen to be sent by the U. S government to Vietnam. However, the key word there is officially. The kid told me he got in the Army with his older brother’s name and ID. I asked him’ “Why in the hell did you want to come to Vietnam?” He then told me the following story.
He was from Alaska. On the night of the junior prom, he and his girlfriend Holly went to the prom. He borrowed his Dad’s car. He went to Holly’s house went up to the door and rang the bell. Holly’s Dad opened the door and invited him in to wait until Holly was ready. Holly came down the stairs just like in the movies. “God, she was beautiful” the kid said, “She looked just like Audrey Hepburn”.
I knew what was coming, and I thought, “This kid is pulling my leg, his story sounds just like that tear-jerker song from a few years back.”
He continued. Yes, it began to snow, the roads became slippery, and he ran off the highway and wrecked the car. When he woke up, Holly was not in the car. He got out of the car and tried to find her. The car was wrecked, it was snowing faster, and he could not find her. He yelled; he blew the horn until the battery went dead, but he couldn’t find her. He didn’t know what to do (All the time he was telling me this I was waiting for the punch line). I mean, it is late at night, and we were on guard duty in a bunker, in South Vietnam and this kid is telling me this story that sounded too cliché. It was about this time that I realized he was trying not to cry, and not succeeding.
He continued. He went back up to the road, thinking that maybe Holly had done the same thing. A car came along and the driver stopped to help him. After the two of them looked for Holly for 30 minutes, the driver of the car talked the kid into going to the police station. The kid told the police what happened. The police went back to the wrecked car and looked for Holly. They found her body on down the embankment at least 300 hundred feet beyond the car. The car had hit a tree and Holly had been thrown through the windshield. “She was dead” the kid choked, out through his tears. After the funeral, the kid said he had to get out of that town and away from Holly’s friends and family, and from himself and the memories that were eating him alive.
Yes, he was a kid, just sixteen, but he had already lived through a man’s tragedy. He was crying, and I believe he told me the truth. I had had my twentieth birthday a few days before, but the kid made me feel old. I became a father to him on that night. We all tried to look after him. We wanted to make sure he got back home. He was still there when I was wounded and sent home. I lost touch with all of my Army friends. War is hell.
He was from Alaska. On the night of the junior prom, he and his girlfriend Holly went to the prom. He borrowed his Dad’s car. He went to Holly’s house went up to the door and rang the bell. Holly’s Dad opened the door and invited him in to wait until Holly was ready. Holly came down the stairs just like in the movies. “God, she was beautiful” the kid said, “She looked just like Audrey Hepburn”.
I knew what was coming, and I thought, “This kid is pulling my leg, his story sounds just like that tear-jerker song from a few years back.”
He continued. Yes, it began to snow, the roads became slippery, and he ran off the highway and wrecked the car. When he woke up, Holly was not in the car. He got out of the car and tried to find her. The car was wrecked, it was snowing faster, and he could not find her. He yelled; he blew the horn until the battery went dead, but he couldn’t find her. He didn’t know what to do (All the time he was telling me this I was waiting for the punch line). I mean, it is late at night, and we were on guard duty in a bunker, in South Vietnam and this kid is telling me this story that sounded too cliché. It was about this time that I realized he was trying not to cry, and not succeeding.
He continued. He went back up to the road, thinking that maybe Holly had done the same thing. A car came along and the driver stopped to help him. After the two of them looked for Holly for 30 minutes, the driver of the car talked the kid into going to the police station. The kid told the police what happened. The police went back to the wrecked car and looked for Holly. They found her body on down the embankment at least 300 hundred feet beyond the car. The car had hit a tree and Holly had been thrown through the windshield. “She was dead” the kid choked, out through his tears. After the funeral, the kid said he had to get out of that town and away from Holly’s friends and family, and from himself and the memories that were eating him alive.
Yes, he was a kid, just sixteen, but he had already lived through a man’s tragedy. He was crying, and I believe he told me the truth. I had had my twentieth birthday a few days before, but the kid made me feel old. I became a father to him on that night. We all tried to look after him. We wanted to make sure he got back home. He was still there when I was wounded and sent home. I lost touch with all of my Army friends. War is hell.
posted by 7horses | Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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