Word: tanlong
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...typical militia outpost is Tanlong, some 20 miles southeast of Saigon. At night the capital's lights loom on the horizon, but none of the 14 men on duty can afford to look at them: the Viet Cong snipe constantly. The Tanlong outpost consists of six foxholes, all half-full of slimy water. A mortar pit, with its precious weapon covered carefully in canvas, stands near by, flanked by four ancient Vietnamese graves whose massive headstones provide the outpost's only cover...
...evening, before the Communists begin shooting, the voices of men, women and children in Longthu village, just 1,000 yards away, drift clearly over the paddyfields to Tanlong. This is the toughest part of the day for Corporal Bui Van Tu, at 40 the oldest member of the platoon. Submachine-Gunner Tu's wife and two children live in Longthu, and half of his $34-a-month pay goes to keep them in rice. Tu has not had any leave since the three days off he got in 1963, sees his family only once every five weeks...
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