Word: thuds
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...silence that followed the warning sirens was broken by the dull thud of exploding bombs. Sirens wailed again, this time directing ambulance crews to the wounded. Bach Mai Hospital suffered the first of many direct hits. Homes and schools crumpled under the onslaught, and the night sky lit up with strings of smaller explosions. Rescue teams poked through wrecked buildings, searching for wounded people trapped beneath the rubble. The dead lay silent...
...excitement does not begin with their first song, either. Engrossed patrons barely look up from conversations and beers. But some familiar tune--often an old Beatles song like "She Loves You"--hits with a comfortable thud of recognition and reminiscence. Drinkers smile and begin tapping their feet while their dates silently mouth the words, and quickly, the aisles of the bar are filled with shuffling, twisting dancers bumping against each other...
Some 225 miles to the south, the Delta presents a vivid contrast. Driving down Highway 4, which links Saigon with its rice bowl, buses and military convoys vie irritably for space on the narrow asphalt road, amidst foul-smelling cyclones of black exhaust. There is a dull thud or two of mortar and a burst of machine-gun fire in palm trees half a mile to the south. Women stooping in the paddyfields don't even bother to look up. "Just a couple of guerrillas," sighs the driver...
...raucous voice on the radio blares out, "Gonna' have some fun tonight, gonna' have some fun tonight..." Three meticulously-dressed students walk into the House a bit sluggishly. Two of them slink over to the one empty table, next to the Coke machine, and sit down with a weary thud. The other, wearing purpletinted glasses and a long crimson scarf, goes up to the counter and, yawning, tells Frank what he wants. He then joins his buddies at the table, which is too low for their long frames. They have to extend their legs out onto the floor...
...bombing shakes the walls each day as the fighting comes closer. Even seasoned veterans glance nervously at each other on occasion, because it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between the thud of American bombs and the thump of incoming insurgent shells. Someone is always claiming that the airport is being shelled...