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Forty-second Job of Bob - In-country cultural writer Part I - Date with fate post 54: Laos, Viet Nam; finally landing in Saigon
This entry was posted on 9/8/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob, Fate Fairies.
The idea was sparked in preparation for Graduate School. I was taking some remedial college classes to fill the requirement to enter the Communications (Media) program at UW-Whitewater. Since my undergraduate degree was in Criminal Justice I would need a couple of Media/Journalism classed to hone up for the Comm people.
One such class was Sociology of Media (I will double check on the accuracy of the class title; perhaps it was Medial and Society). Regardless, several of my classes in pre-law were in sociology. It was at this point I realized several college programs use the same dead sociologists as their guides. This particular media class was taught by one Professor Norma Coates. I liked her style and always looked forward to her lectures.
Some where, some place along the way in said media class, I was doing an essay paper on movies. In this case, Vietnam War movies. And, I must admit, I can not for the life of me remember where I got the nudge to dive into movies - never having any inspiration to do film or theater work. But, somewhere I got the idea to dissect Vietnam War movies. I certainly had followed 'Nam movie progression in the theaters, rental, and purchase over the years having lived through that war era.
But, one thing I do remember. Professors often ask for a rough draft of an essay - to see if you are on the right track. Ol' Professor Norma Coates looked at my movie paper draft and said simply, "You know Bob; this is Master's thesis idea material."
She had done her job in nine words. A light bulb popped on in my pea brain.
I was off to the murky world of...., Vietnam. I expanded this movie theme several times in my travels through grad school. By the beginning of 2005, I had made plans to actually visit the country. Poetically, by April of 2005, it would be the 30th anniversary of the end of the "American Vietnam War."
For a trip to Vietnam, I had the humble resources, the time, and had also learned the cleverness to pull it off via 35 years of blue-collar working. There was of course, all the collective myths I would have to deal with: "Why the hell do you want to go to that damn place, Bob? The Vietnamese hate Americans; the Vietnamese eat their pets; your travel will be monitored and restricted; and, you will be disappeared once you get there.
All of these notions were false of course...., at least by January, 2005.
I did a ton of research on the current Vietnam before the trip. In the spirit of my movie theme, I bought several dozen Vietnam War movies and watched them all. As it turned out, they were useless in regards to today's Vietnam. Of course they were all made from the "American" point of view. Some of the more useful movies were actually contemporary stories made by Vietnamese directors and made since the 1990s.
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One blog posting - one book chapter vignette in no way does three visits to Vietnam and Laos justice. So, my Vietnam travel, like my Iraq travel is fodder for future and separate books. But, I will relate a couple of instances that absolutely highlight my visits to 'Nam.
With the time change of traveling to Asia, it looked to me like the Airline was pushing the limit with a connecting flight in Tokyo and I was right. It was my Christmas break in January of 2005. My flight was non-stop from Chicago to Tokyo. I then had an hour to hop on a Vietnamese Airline flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) - not enough time of course; a delay right off the bat in Chicago caused me to certainly miss my Saigon flight.
To my stunned surprise, a cute little Vietnamese flight attendant met me in the horde of people exiting the flight in Tokyo. She held a sign that said, "Mr. Keet." I had my suspicions it was actually for me so I lingered in the foyer of the terminal. Sure enough I was the only one left and we both managed to determine Mr. Keet was...., Bob Keith.
Within an hour I was in a hotel room in a hotel adjacent to the airport. And, I was staying for free, compliments of my airline. I had several hours of daylight left so I strolled down to a hilly and pleasant neighborhood not too far from the airport. I found a little cafe and had some soup and thought about the journey I had undertaken. But, the real reflection came back at the hotel as I sat in the top floor bar and looked out over the lights of the Tokyo airport. I began to get nervous.
"Would I ever actually get to Vietnam? What hurdles await me tomorrow? I am so close now"
The next day I huddled with a gaggle of Vietnamese people in the terminal waiting for our flight to Saigon. Down below us we could see the bright blue shiny plane from the Vietnam Airline fleet. Neatly dressed employees of the Vietnamese Airline cheerfully helped us toward our seats. What a contrast to the dreary war images from the 1960s and '70s.
My heart raced as the big blue jet took off ultimately heading for the country "we" had fought a war with for at least 15 years. The chow was actually quite good in-flight. The flight attendants were so nice and pretty I remember actually being a bit frightened of them.
In a few hours we were over Saigon. As we dropped down below the clouds, You could make out the roads, buildings, huts, and people going about their daily toils. It looked eerily like the war footage from the 1960s. The countyside however, was the greenest green I had ever seen.
Then rather abruptly, we were coming in for a landing at Tan Son Nhat International airport. And then it hit me.
As we landed on the old bumpy tarmac landing strip, we passed the concrete bunkers the United States military had used to hide their jet fighters in during our war there. There the bunkers were - 40 years later. A chill went up my spine.
I had arrived. Yes, arrived at the old 'Nam in my memory gleaned from living through that era in childhood and being in the military during the end of said war era. I arrived to that place in my mind...., but, via the new Vietnamese culture and its relatively modern airline and that big beautiful blue jet plane with its many pretty flight attendants and confident Captain.
The beginning of the many contradictions and paradoxes of current day Vietnam were just beginning...., for me!
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Note: This blog "Fate Fairies" Category does not list the brushes with fate chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older event. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Fate Fairies Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Sergeant Matthew Daniel Hermanson, 22, Appleton, Wisconsin, died Thursday, April 28, 2011, at Forward Operating Base Shank of wounds he received when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms-fire in Wardak province, Afghanistan. Hermanson was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Polk, Louisiana. He joined the Army in 2007. After stints at Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Iraq, he was deployed to Afghanistan in November of 2010.
The Janesville Gazette posting a wire article from the Associated Press notes Hermanson enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a week or so from his first wedding anniversary when he was killed. Hermanson graduated from Appleton North High School in 2006.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Sergeant Hermanson had also served served 14 months in Iraq. Although younger, Hermanson was in a leadership role. One of his extra duties was to counsel soldiers who were having marriage or relationship problems. He also trained new solders who had yet to be in combat. The Journal Sentinel went on to say Matthew was the youngest son in the family.
The Web site fox11online.com posted a statement by the family that says Matthew was known for his sense of humor and had, "a vibrant personality, exuberant smile, and quick-witted humor." Hermanson was to complete his tour of duty in July 2011 but he had signed up to extend his tour.
An obituary posted on findagrave.com notes Matthew was born on May 27, 1988 in Appleton, Wisconsin. At the time of his death Sergeant Matthew Hermanson was survived by: his wife Rachel; parents Jeff and Sandy; brothers and sisters-in-law Josh (Kathryn) Hermanson, and Nathan (Audra) Hermanson; maternal grandparents Daniel and Ruth Carew; paternal grandmother Karen (special friend Harland Carl) Hermanson; aunts Sue (Bruce) Buchanan, and Barb (Justin) Tobias; uncles Steve (Deb) Carew, and Bruce (Bonnie) Carew; father-and-mother-in-law Reverand Donald and Gladys Younger; and, sister-in-law Daisy Younger.
Army Sergeant Matthew D. Hermanson was the 31st Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Afghanistan since the October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
102,344 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003 (actually documented).
10,125 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,477 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1756 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
944 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011.
32,186 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
592 Wisconsin Service persons have been wounded in Iraq since Spring 2003.
13,609 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
192 Wisconsin Service persons have been wounded in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
34 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
3 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in the U.S. related to "The War on Terror" since September, 2001.
149 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since September, 2001.
5 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org .
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