Word: vietnams
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...most foolish thing I did that week in Saigon was venturing out on a bicycle. If I meet a more harrowing experience in Vietnam between now and the day I leave I'll be very surprised. I found myself competing with American, Korean and ARVN army trucks; with motorscooters and motorcycles, jeeps, cabs, pedicabs, horsecarts, pedestrians, and other cyclists. The trip I took to the market was one long test of nerves and pedal-power as I continually coughed, wheezed and tried to keep fumes and soot out of my eyes...
...about to quit the place when I met a soldier from Seattle, a helicopter gunner from the 162nd Assault Copter Co. in Phu Binh. He had been in Vietnam for 17 months but had never seen Saigon--and he was only in town this time to take a flight physical for helicopter pilot school in Alabama. He thought he had passed the physical and so became quite expansive, telling me about himself and his work "up north." He was a high school drop-out before enlisting and had failed at a few endeavors before the army...
There is a well-known and true story of Robert McNamara's difficulty with the Vietnamese language. He likes to make a small pleasantry to his audience--usually "Vietnam for 1000 years." Unfortunately, to the Vietnamese it came out sounding quite different--"The duck wants to lie down." The Viets would always howl at this and Mac thought he had really scored. Vietnamese, is their answer to Sun Valley, Palm Beach and White Sulphur Springs. Both sides regard it as one of the trophies in this war and consequently it sees little of the fighting. Saigon politicos and generals...
...three, or even four completely different meanings depending upon the pitch and stress you use. There is a well-known and true story of Robert McNamara's difficulty with the language on his frequent visits to Saigon. He likes to make a small pleasantry to his Vietnamese audience--usually "Vietnam for 1000 years." Unfortunately his aides never told him that the printed words for the phrase have to be pronounced quite precisely to convey the message. And every time Mac would wave his arms and give his little greeting, the audience would always hear something quite different: "the duck wants...
...several university (Dalat) students. Their own histories and views of life as lived in 25 years of war were an education for me. I think that the lack of commitment to a democratic Vietnam in these young people is understandable if still disappointing to me. They fail to see why they should make plans for their country or themselves as the people and things will indefinitely continue to be chewed up by war. I committed a major faux pas when I requested a forum/interview arrangement with some of the students, thinking the transcription might be of interest to an American...