It’s been many years since Papa has felt a hint of angst about memories of his military service in Vietnam. However, there have been times when a current event in the news awakened a recollection from those days. When a friend was in the Gulf War I wrote a letter to him about the emotion of being far from home performing a duty that few back home understood. He expressed his appreciation to me about understanding isolation in a combat zone. Today’s news is reporting over 100 attacks against US forces/interests since October 7th. Many observers feel that there has been an inadequate response to such attacks by the US. Which gets Papa thinking about an experience in 1971.
In 1970 there was an incursion by US forces into Cambodia. Its announced purpose was to cut off supply routes and assaults from hidden forces in Cambodia. The enemy would jump back and forth from protected areas in Cambodia to attack and then withdraw across the border to safety close to innocent civilians. That purpose of the US military fell on deaf ears in many quarters. All heck broke loose in the anti-war movemnet back home. I’ve often thought that too many of those war protesters or their pupils now embrace timid approaches to aggression. Which doesn’t currently help the poor soldiers and sailors at our Mideast bases or ships in the area. Sitting ducks is one way to describe their plight.
Back to 1971. One day I attended a security briefing for our base. (Think underground, Dr. Strangelove “Big Board” atmosphere.) One item remains fixed in my mind. Our base had not been attacked in nearly a year. On the other hand, the briefer said our base had been attacked everyday/night before the Cambodian incursion. No longer being a constant sitting duck was of great importance to Papa at the time. I am thankful for the years since. That some Americans were protesting an incursion despite it resulting in better security for Papa only added to the loneliness of deployment in 1971. I can only hope that someone in our government is thinking about the security of modern day “sitting ducks”. I can imagine the concerns of the “ducks” as they hope/pray for safety.