EDITORIAL

Coming home from Vietnam

Posted 12/31/20

Editor's Note: At 79 years old - the birthday was Nov. 29 - Bill Hancock certainly holds the distinction of being one of the Warwick Beacon's senior readers. When he called to say he'd found letter he'd written in 1968 while serving with the Seabees in

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
EDITORIAL

Coming home from Vietnam

Posted

Editor’s Note: At 79 years old – the birthday was Nov. 29 – Bill Hancock certainly holds the distinction of being one of the Warwick Beacon’s senior readers. When he called to say he’d found letter he’d written in 1968 while serving with the Seabees in Vietnam, we suggested he send it along. Bill was a Third Class Petty Officer and built roads in Chulai, Phbai and Phuluck. He said some rounds hit their camp and fortunately there were no injuries. After his honorable discharge, Bill spent most of his career driving trucks. He still gets out and about. Here’s his letter:

Dear Civilians, Friends, Draft Dodgers, Etc!

In the very near future the undersigned will once more be in your midst, dehydrated and demoralized, to take his place again as a human being with the well-known forms of freedom and justice for all; engage in Life, Liberty and the somewhat delayed Pursuit of Happiness. In making your joyous preparations to welcome him back into organized society, you might take certain steps to make allowances for the crude environment which has been his miserable lot for the past eight months. In other words, he might be a little Asiatic from Vietnameseitis and overseas visit, and should be handled with care. Do not be alarmed if he is infected with all forms of rare tropical diseases. A little time in the “Land of the Big PX” will cure this.

Therefore, show no alarm if he insists on carrying a weapon to the dinner table, looks around for his steel pot when offered a chair, or wakes you up in the middle of the night for guard duty. Keep cool when he pours gravy on his desert at dinner or mixes peaches with his Segrams VO. Pretend not to notice if he eats with his fingers instead of his silverware and prefers C-Rations to steak. Abstain from saying anything about powdered eggs, dehydrated potatoes, fried rice, fresh milk or ice cream. Do not be alarmed if he should jump up from the dinner table and rush to the garbage can to wash his dish with a toilet brush. After all, this has been his standard.

Take it with a smile when he insists on digging up the garden to fill sandbags for the bunker he is building. Be tolerant when he takes his blanket and sheets off the bed and puts them on the floor to sleep on. Also, if it should start raining, pay no attention to him if he pulls off his clothes, grabs a bar of soap and a towel, and runs outdoors for a shower.

When in his daily conversation he utters such things as: “Lin Loi” and “Cho Oi” just be patient; and simply leave quickly and calmly if by some chance he utters “Di Di” with an irritated look on his face, because it means no less than: Get the Hell out of here. Do not let it shake you up if he picks up the phone and yells “Parchment, Sir” or says “Roger Out” for goodbye, or simply shouts “Working.”

Never ask why the Jones’ son held a higher rank than he did, and by no means mention the term “Extend.” Pretend not to notice if at a restaurant he calls the waitress “Number one Girl” and uses his hat for an ashtray. He will probably keep listening for “Homeward Bound” to sound off over ARVN. If he does, comfort him, for he’s still reminiscing. Be especially watchful when he is in the presence of a woman – especially a beautiful woman.

Above all, keep in mind that beneath that tanned and rugged exterior, there is a heart of gold (the only thing of value he has left). Treat him with kindness, tolerance, and an occasional fifth of good liquor, and you will be able to rehabilitate that which of was and now is a hollow shell of) the Happy-go-lucky guy you once knew.

Last, but by no means least, send no more mail to this FPO, fill the refrigerator with beer, get the civies out of mothballs, fill the car with gas, and get the women and children off the streets – BECAUSE THE KID IS COMING HOME!

Bill Hancock

Warwick

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here