Life in Saigon, October 1970
This is a journal entry I made late in 1970, reflecting on my stay in Nam up to that point. It was quite awful in Saigon in those days, and writing was the only way to get all of the horrible crimes committed against civilians out of my head. I couldn't believe that a relative handful of "advisers" a decade before had turned into the soldier-infested free-for-all that it was in the 1970.
I don't know what was worse--the way many of the soldiers treated the civilians or the way they treated themselves. I don't think most of those kids even knew what they were doing half the time with all of the shock they went through. But--oh my stars!--the Vietnamese kids I think had it the worst. Most of them didn't even remember a time of peace in their home country, that's how long the war had been raging. Those poor souls were being raised among hate and anger. I don't even want to think about what might have become of the ones in that picture.
I don't know what was worse--the way many of the soldiers treated the civilians or the way they treated themselves. I don't think most of those kids even knew what they were doing half the time with all of the shock they went through. But--oh my stars!--the Vietnamese kids I think had it the worst. Most of them didn't even remember a time of peace in their home country, that's how long the war had been raging. Those poor souls were being raised among hate and anger. I don't even want to think about what might have become of the ones in that picture.