20 August 2006

Vietnam War story

I reflected on some of the more disturbing events of the past couple of weeks. A few days earlier, Dan and I had gone to Battalion Headquarters in Phu Bai to pick up supplies. We had caught a ride with a big six-by whose crew was in the process of exchanging the old M-14 for the newer M-16. We had come upon a small Vil a few miles out where a CAC detail was stationed. I stood up to stretch my legs and looked down in the midst of the gathering. Propped up against a small building directly in front of me was a dead Vietnamese. He had been stripped naked and was propped up in a manner that his genitals were exposed in a grotesque manner. The driver was talking from the cab of the truck to one of the marines near the corpse.
“What’s with the naked Zip?”
“ARVN killed his ugly ass last night.”
“What do you have him out there like that for?”
“Had quite a few probes on the perimeter past few days. We thought it would be a good idea if the VC see what will happen to them if they fuck with us

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