Posted by Ernie on 5/26/2007, 2:43 pm As we see, the living is not easy in Saigon, Cholon, and Tan Son Nhut. It was downright treacherous! Unlike the guys of Tour Of Duty, firearms were not allowed by most military personnel in Saigon. Snipers; bomb blasts; and stabbings were commonplace especially in some sectors of this large city. The new TV/Radio station was some ten blocks or more from the old hotel where the old radio station was. The buses had not been adjusted to go to the new station, so we had to either walk or take a taxi to work from the bus stop. There were a lot of little outdoor dining establishments and shade tree shops along the way. Mamasan would come out with her food and makings of a fire and cook on a hibachi and then sell her little meager fare. Two boys (brothers about 10 and 13) lived in a cardboard box and did repairs to bicycles to eat. Like always, the men of the station would stop and talk to them and enjoyed the little guys very much. One day as I was going to work, I came by the boys spot on the sidewalk and they were not there and everything was gone. So I asked when I got to the station and was told that they were killed by a grenade the night before. So the military personnel were not the only victims of Saigon's brutal street war. Two young boys died because they were friendly with American military men. And sadly, stopping and talking to them and giving them money was the reason they died. Zeke Anderson really took his dear john well. And sending Goldman on a wild goose chase smacked of 'Good Morning, Vietnam'. Except Robin Williams was sent on a wild goose chase by a VC boy who he trusted. And to sound like a broken record, Devlin would not have been given the opportunities that she got in TOD. And the marine embassy guard was a sad victim of the loneliness of war. I found the twist of the concept of Hanoi Hannah to be a stroke of genius on the part of TOD. Actually, Hanoi Hannah was on a radio station in the area. It had to be as the portable radio station could only have a range of only a few square miles. But to then have the person be in a bar in Saigon to come in contact with the men was rather unusual. She did have a sexy voice and downright cute too! The streets of Saigon looked fairly real but the inside of Tan Son Nhut airport did not look that nice. I know. The molotov cocktails; fireworks; bomb blasts; and weapons fire must have been awesome in the crowded city during the holiday! And poor 'Roo' was again the sensible one in the group. "I have a bad feeling about Saigon!" and it turned out that he was right! They need to learn to listen to my man! And Zeke was right. There is no high ground in Saigon! Ernie...
I think the episode for this week is Saigon #2. This is the continuation of the story of the relocation to Saigon and Tan Son Nhut.
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