Posts by jwmanila:
Saigon Tease: So, What Did You Do in Nam, Dad?
October 1st, 2014Catch-22 was the first classic farce about American military life. “M*A*S*H,” set later during the Korean War, continued that tradition. But few books have chronicled the behind-the-scenes absurdities of the Vietnam War.
Blood sport at Long Binh
Saigon lunches with Charlie
The John Wayne false alarm
In the tradition of “Sgt. Bilko” and “What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?” SAIGON TEASE follows the misadventures, narrow escapes, and anguish of an 18-year-old in Vietnam in 1967 as he awkwardly transitions from boy to man. But it differs from its predecessors in one significant way: the bizarre escapades in SAIGON TEASE are all true. And that 18-year-old was me.
The great MP chase
The hellcat of Hill 54
The phantom on the perimeter
Many Americans, when asked what comes to mind when they think of Vietnam, would probably say anger, torment, sadness. I had a different experience. For that reason, the tone of my book is not angry, tormented, or sad. The war is a backdrop to my story, not the stage. SAIGON TEASE isn’t meant to diminish the suffering and sacrifice of those who fought, bled, and/or died there. Instead, its purpose is to pay homage to Vietnam, its people, and those who served there.
The Miss Japan switcheroo
Happy-Happy in Bangkok
The bicycle twins of Hue
SAIGON TEASE is not a war story, and yet it is very much a war story. It’s not a diary from the front lines; it’s a chronicle from behind the lines where the vast majority of Vietnam vets served. It’s a saga of wonder and beauty and innocence and mischief set in exotic Southeast Asia during the pivotal war of our generation.
Skinny-dipping with Cong
Cam Ranh close call
VC root beer
The secret passage
But perhaps the most significant thing about SAIGON TEASE is that these tales were not the exceptions; they were the norm for most men and women who went there. And that story has never been told.
