I had business in Saigon, so I had to go there. Several Decca employees had their own businesses, which I may talk about later. I brought PB with me as a translator. I hired a car and chauffeur.
We left Vung Tau early in the morning, went through Baria without any problems, and had gone a few miles when we heard an explosion up ahead. It was a beautiful day. After a few years, you get used to the nightly crump, crump of artillery and hopefully learn to tell the difference between the sounds of shells, mortars, rockets, machine gun fire, etc. going out and coming in. People get used to it. For years after the war, people would still jump when a car backfired or they heard a loud bang. We kept going and came to a big hole in the road. We didn't worry too much because we were able to drive around it and no cars were damaged. But there was no traffic going either way.
After a few miles, we came to a big village. There seemed to be a lot going on, and traffic was backed up and not going anywhere. People wanted to know what had happened on the road we had just been on, and we were told that a bridge had blown up up ahead.
As a loyal subject of Her Britannic Majesty, I thought it was a good time for a tea break, so we went and found a tea house. There, we talked about what was going on, like people who are trying to decide if they should continue their picnic because it's going to rain.
PB was a North Vietnamese, and they are a very steady people. We decided to leave the car and driver behind, since they couldn't go any further because of the broken bridge. Instead, we walked on and tried to find a ride further on.
We got to the end of the village and left people and cover behind us. The road was built higher than the rice fields around it. No clouds were in the sky, and there was no sound. A young couple was walking along a quiet country road on a beautiful day.
We came to the bridge that was broken. One span, which was about three feet wide, was still passable, so we walked over the first part of the bridge that was broken. I stopped and took a look around. One of these three-wheeled vehicles had been wrecked. I couldn't see the driver. He might have fallen down below. I didn't look down because it wasn't the right time to be curious. When I looked to my left, I saw a farmer's wife who was pretty fat. Her face was hidden. Her body was in an odd position. Part of my own instinct to stay alive kicked in, and I thought, "What an odd way to pray." It was always a sign of death. This was one of the ways I've talked about fear before, a way to get away from the real world. The body does all the things it needs to do calmly, but the mind blocks out the truth. When I turned to my right, I saw a little girl sleeping. She was probably around 12 years old. A very beautiful face that was peaceful while it slept. I looked down at her body and saw that her stomach was ripped open and her guts were hanging out onto the bridge. Hers was the last sleep that will never end.
I had a look around. Not a peep. No movement. Nothing. I looked up and saw a spotter plane way up in the sky. So high, an eagle could have flown there. I looked at PB, who was still very calm, and we went on without saying anything. PB was very brave all the time. I didn't think it was strange that we'd never show each other any weakness. We didn't even think about the fact that we might both be crazy. There is a Vietnamese phrase, "dien cai dau," which was changed to "dinkydow" in English, which might have been right. It means insane.
We walked for about half a mile, and then I saw movement to my left. A group of soldiers from the Regional Force moved quickly along the drainage ditch next to the road. They were led by an officer with a pale face who held a Colt.45 in his right hand. His hand was shaking too much to hide. He didn't even look at us. He looked like how I felt inside. We kept going until we found a single three-wheeled taxi. For a very high price, it took us to the next village, where we were able to find a ride to Saigon.
I took care of my business in Saigon. I had hoped for a more calm evening, but it wasn't quite that way. The dinner wasn't very tasty. The next day, we had to go back.
