...In the Morning Sun: A Love Story from the War in Vietnam

By Gary Good

IN THE MORNING SUN is based on the true story of one soldiers three-year adventure. Half a world from home, he finds himself in the middle of a war the war in Vietnam. From the chaotic streets of Saigon, to the rice paddies of rural Vietnam, and to the confines of a small bamboo cage, his journey is filled with surprises. Along the way, he meets people who will become life-long friends, and others who he will spend a lifetime trying to forget. Not just a war story, ... IN THE MORNING SUN is also a story of love, a love that survives all of the battles and still lives... long after the last shots fired have been forgotten.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 13, 2004
• ISBN: 9781468510980

Gary Good

Gary Good is a Vietnam Veteran, and well remembers his own war-time experiences.  Like most of our soldiers who were sent to Vietnam, he was a very young man when he began his first tour, but came back to the “world” as one of the many seasoned veterans who had witnessed so much pain and devastation.  He had been forced to grow up in a hurry.  In the writing of this book, he draws from those experiences and from his many memories of those people who were such a vital part of his life in Vietnam… the men he served with, and the many Vietnamese people who he came to know so well.

Book preview

Chapter One

March 5, 1966

Somewhere in the countryside of North Vietnam

The sun peeked around the side of a distant hill and slanted onto a lush, green field. As it soaked into thick foliage, streaks of light passed between blades of tall grass and came to rest against a line of vertical bamboo poles. Tears rolled from a pair of swollen and squinted blue eyes that turned away from the sun’s early morning glare to look at the bedraggled heap that lay slumped against the opposite end of the cage. At least he wasn’t alone. The past eighteen hours had been like a bad dream that still went on after the night was taken over by dawn. It began when they were plucked from the sky and cast into a shallow and unkind river. For hour upon hour, they had carried their dying comrade through the jungle. Now they were the only ones left. Beaten and bound, they were loaded onto the smelly old farm truck that brought them to this place. Again they were beaten, and then thrown into this bamboo cage like the wild animals for which it was intended. Exhaustion had allowed an escape into sleep to come easily.

He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. The war had seemed far away, and he had never been more than a small part of it. Sure, every soldier plays a part in war. His part was to dump artillery onto alleged enemy positions, but before now, he had never seen the enemy up close. The thought that it was all going to end here in this cage, was more than he was equipped to face. A scream from deep inside of him erupted into the peace and calm of a new day and filled it with the sound of rage. He grabbed the poles and shook the cage with all the strength he had left in him. He couldn’t stop. Again, he looked into the bright face of the sun, and wailed. The cage rocked and birds hastily flew away as the desperate screams of his fear and helplessness echoed through the trees.

A big hand covered his mouth, and a knee slammed against his back. Before he knew it, he was on the floor of the cage and nearly smothered by a heavy weight.

Cool it man! You gotta cool it! If you don’t shut up, they’re gonna be all over us again! You hear me? After a brief struggle and then a nod of compliance, the hand slipped away from his mouth. For a long time, the two weary men lay there motionless. The cage was still, and near silence had returned to the clearing.

Man, I’m sorry ’bout all that, but you just don’t know! I got somebody waitin’ for me in Saigon, an’ it’s gonna blow her mind when she finds out I’m not comin’ home… an’ we got a baby on the way too! Guess I flipped out, huh?

I guess. I don’t think you know how much noise you were makin‘. I had to do somethin’ to make you stop. Sorry I had to take you down that way, but there’s no tellin’ what they might do to us. By the way, the name’s David Abrams.

Mine’s Andy… Andy Monk.

They sat up, and David moved to the other end of the cage. Andy leaned against the wall of poles and then tore open the small hole in his blood-soaked pants. The bleeding had finally stopped now, and the nasty rip in his knee was covered over with last night’s mud. His stomach had been in knots since the helicopter was first hit, and the lump on the side of his head still throbbed.

Do yourself a favor, David said. Don’t think about it. Make yourself think about somethin’ else. Ain’t easy, but that’s what you’ve gotta do. Try thinkin’ of some way for us to get the hell outta here. Long as we’re alive, there’s a chance.

David was a mess. A rag was tied around his head, and the blood from deep scratches on the side of his face had become a dry crust on his neck. He held firmly to his upper left arm. His muddy uniform was intact except for the boots, which were conspicuously gone.

You don’t look so good, Andy said. You okay?

Man, you got me. I hurt all over, and it’s for sure my arm’s broke. How ‘bout you? Looks like you lost some blood from that leg.

Yeah, I did, but if my head would quit hurtin’ I could put up with the leg. Let me have a look at your arm.

Here, feel this thing, David said as he placed Andy’s hand on his upper arm. Just below the shoulder, Andy could feel the zig-zag of the bone.

Yeah, it’s broken. I never felt a broken arm before, but it’s easy to tell.

Well, you’ll just have to fix it, David said. He hooked his good arm around the poles behind him, and then tightly gripped the one nearest his hand.

What you want me to do? Andy asked. You know whatever I do is gonna really hurt.

Give me your right hand, David said. Now, put your other hand around where it’s broken. Okay? Okay. Now, get a grip on my wrist. Andy did as he said, and then David braced both feet against the poles of the wall on his left.

When I tell you to, pull ‘til you can feel it separate some, then line it up and quit pullin’. Andy put his feet against the poles on both sides of David, and looked him in the eye.

You sure you want me to do this? Don’t they have any medics or somebody who could do it better?

Yeah, they got medics, but they’d prob’ly sooner cut it off than try to fix it.

Okay, Andy said, I’m ready if you are. Say ‘when’.

When. David stiffened his neck and set his jaw as he held tightly to the pole in his right hand. Andy pulled on the arm, and in his other hand, felt the two pieces of bone in the arm come apart a little. Somehow, he managed to align them, and then quit pulling. The hard part was done. Andy backed away, and David sat for a few minutes with his eyes closed. He had only barely made a sound.

We need somethin’ for a splint, don’t we? Andy asked as he aimed between two poles and relieved himself into a muddy puddle that nearly surrounded the cage.

Yeah, but I’ve got no idea what that’s gonna be.

Without being noticed, a young girl had approached the cage. Squatted behind a nearby bush, she watched them, and now began to speak to them in her native Vietnamese.

The two Americans didn’t know what she was saying to them. She pointed to David’s arm, and then pointed to her own. Andy also pointed to David’s arm, and then touched one of the bamboo poles. And then, he gestured the tying of something around the arm.

Bamboo, Andy said, bamboo. With the edge of his hand, he pretended to saw the pole in two places, and again made the gesture of tying something around the arm. The young girl reached out and touched the pole.

Bam-boo, she said. Bam-boo, she said again. She jumped up and ran from the cage. She soon disappeared into the tall grass. Andy and David just looked at each other.

She know what we’re talkin’ about? Andy asked, or did she just learn a new word?

All I know, David said, is this arm is killin’ me.

Just lean back, an’ try not to move around so much.

I’m tryin… I’m tryin’.

Guess you know, Andy said, there prob’ly ain’t much point in us tryin’ to put ourselves back together. When they find out we don’t know nothin’ ‘bout nothin’, I don’t see how keepin’ us alive is gonna be worth anything. Can’t figure why they even bothered to bring us here anyway. They coulda just blowed our heads off and left us in the mud with Robinson. Early the night before, PFC Robinson had died in the jungle. There was no obvious reason for them to still be alive. Andy closed his eyes and half believed that when he opened them again, he’d be back in Saigon, away from the real war, and that this had all been just a bad dream. Not so… this was for real.

Well they haven’t killed us yet, David said. All we can do is hope they don’t change their minds. We must be worth somethin’.

I sure hope you’re right, but we’re not exactly intelligence officers or fighter pilots. We’re just two ‘grunt’ corporals who were in the wrong place when everything turned to crap. Don’t see any reason to think we could ever be very good tradin’ material.

Well I’ll be a son of a bitch! She’s back! David pointed to the tall grass. The girl was coming back, and under her arm she carried three short pieces of bamboo. In one hand, she carried a small basket filled with rags.

Looks like she brought just what we need, Andy said. She had. Under the rags was a canteen, complete with a dirty U.S. canvas cover, and under that, a genuine Vietnamese to English – English to Vietnamese dictionary.

Bam-boo, she said, three bam-boo. She smiled, and then passed three pieces of bamboo between the poles. Andy held one up to the broken arm.

Just right, he said, these oughta work fine.

Kien (Kee-uhn), the girl said as she patted herself on the chest. I am Kien.

Thank you, Andy said. I’m Andy, and this is David.

Yes, thank you, Kien, David said, and then he too held one of the poles up to his arm. The rags easily passed through the space between the poles, but the canteen was too big. As Andy held a couple of the rags to the space, Kien uncapped the canteen and poured water over them, and then quickly put the canteen under the front of her shirt. Andy and David watched as Kien turned away, and again went toward the tall grass. They thought she was leaving, but then she stopped at the edge of the clearing and bent down to pick wild flowers. Soon, the little basket she carried was filled with pink, white, and yellow flowers, under which she slipped the canteen. She must have thought that she wasn’t allowed to have that American military item in her possession. Or maybe she didn’t want anyone else to know that she had it. She returned to the cage, and then pushed the dictionary through to Andy.

I learn English. Please show me in book?

Sure, Andy said, I’ll show you. She smiled, and then ran away. So, that’s how it was. She was going to help them in return for English lessons. That was just fine with him.

How many we need? Andy asked as he picked up the pieces of bamboo.

All three, David said. I figure the more the better.

Here, Andy said, you hold these two in place against your arm, and I’ll hold the other one. He tore one of the rags into strips, each about four or five inches wide, and then folded one of the strips in half. He tied it around the arm and as far up the poles as he could. He folded another strip and tied it just above the elbow. The pole on the inner side of the arm extended a few inches below the elbow, and the other two, about the same amount above the shoulder.

How long I gotta wear this thing, Doc?

Six, maybe eight weeks, ain’t it?

With eyes that seemed to plead, David looked up and far beyond the poles that formed a ceiling, and then lowered his chin to his chest. He wondered if they would still be alive in six or eight weeks.

Let’s get you cleaned up, Andy said. Looks like you got into a fight with a wildcat, and the cat won. How did you get all those little cuts all over your face?

One of those little bastards did have claws like a cat. I think he scratched me just to show all his buddies how tough he was. This big scrape on my head, I got when the chopper hit the bottom of that river or creek, or whatever the damn thing was.

After Andy wiped the blood from David’s face and neck, he took another look at his own wound. He cleaned away the mud as much as he could, and then dabbed his knee with one of the wet rags. He knew that it could use some stitches, but that wasn’t too likely to happen. The rip in his flesh began to bleed again, so he wrapped a rag around it to absorb the blood, and tied the ends together to hold it in place.

So, what happened to your boots? Andy asked.

Beats me. Somebody must’ve needed ‘em more than I do. Woke up just a little while before daybreak, and they were gone. Somebody out there’s wearin’ size twelves.

Guess I’m lucky one of mine is all covered with blood, Andy said. They’re only a few weeks old, and haven’t even started to wear.

Not gonna wear-out here, David said. " You notice this thing’s got wheels? Did you see that ‘Ford’ hubcap?"

Yeah, I did. Makes you wonder, huh?

What I’m wonderin’ is did anybody see what happened? Does anybody out there know we’re still alive, or because we haven’t shown up, do they figure we’re dead?

Hard to say, Andy said. Did you know private Moody? Last I saw, he was still on his feet, and runnin’.

Maybe he got away, David said, but when they came back, it didn’t seem that way… they didn’t act like it. I gotta believe he’s dead. No, I didn’t know him.

Well, if by some miracle he did get away, he’s got to figure we’re dead by now. I guess we won’t expect anybody to come lookin’ for us.

Right, David said, I reckon we’re on our own.

What part of the South are you from? Andy asked.

Atlanta. Why? Where you from… New England?

Not hardly, Andy said, I’m from Ohio.

Same difference. Still a damn ‘yankee’, David said, but then he smiled. How long you been ‘in country’?

Year an’ a half… plus a little, Andy said. I had a pretty wild time in Saigon for a while, and then I met Nhut.

Listen, I really wanna hear about that little woman who’s kept you here so long, but right now, my arm is hurtin’ so bad I can’t think of nothin’ else.

David closed his eyes. Andy leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. He tried to not think at all, but the tears came again. He could hear his heart pounding in his head, and then he heard the distant drone of a plane that was passing over. He couldn’t see it, but he could hear it.

As a small, wispy cloud moved slowly across an otherwise clear blue sky, Andy thought about where and when this all began. That was a long time ago…many things had changed in the past year and a half, but of those early days, those better days, his recollection was very clear.

***********************************

Chapter Two

August 20, 1964:

Where and when it all began

Maybe it’ll make a man out of him, his father had said way back when, and as the plane, a 707 with the seats put in backwards began to taxi to the runway, Andy remembered what his mother had said in reply…

I just hope he eats right and takes care of himself.

Well, Andy thought, I suppose I’ve taken good care of myself, and as for my eating right, this army chow with its ‘some different kind of potatoes for every meal’ has put about a pound a month on me in the time I’ve been in. That’s more than twenty pounds!

His father had continued, saying, I’m glad the boy finally has the spunk to want to ‘go out there and see the world’… and maybe even sow some ‘wild oats’. Until now, the closest he had come to seeing the world was the six months he had spent at Fort Knox, Kentucky, followed by a little less than a year and a half with an artillery battery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The wild oats was yet another story… one that had come to an abrupt end just after he had placed that kiss on the innocent lips of a pretty little thing named Liz Wallace.

As he pushed himself further into the softness of the airliner seat, he closed his eyes and thought back to that hot and muggy Oklahoma night when the shit hit the fan!

He had just finished unfastening the buttons on her tight little blouse, and was about to get a handful.

Liz! Liz! Dammit Liz! You get your ass out of that car… on the double, and I mean right now! Do you hear me?

Oh piss! That’s my dad! He’s gonna kill me! Liz tried to get her clothing put back together and get her hair pushed back from her face. She reached over the front seat and grabbed for the doorhandle, but the door was already being pulled open from the other side. She ducked under the doorway, and stepped out onto the pavement.

Now you, you son of a bitch! her dad yelled as he poked his finger through the window opening and into the back of the car.

Get it out here! Now, boy! Who do you think you are… out here messin’ with a kid barely seventeen years old? Let’s see some I.D.! Good idea… Liz had told him she was nineteen.

My name is Monk, Sir… Specialist Andy Monk. As he climbed out of the car, he pulled his army I.D. card from his wallet. The angry father mumbled something about someone wishing he was a monk by the time he was finished with him. With a shaky hand, Andy handed him his I.D. card, and then stood at attention. While the I.D. card was being examined, Andy looked at the gold oak leaf on the collar of this uninvited party crasher. Liz positioned herself between the two men, and then looked up into her father’s face. Her big brown eyes were wet with tears and underlined with black smears of mascara.

We weren’t even doing anything, Daddy! We were just talking and stuff.

Well, Sweetie, it’s that ‘stuff’ you were doing that’s getting you grounded, and your little soldier boy here, in a whole lot of hot water. I have told you a thousand times now, that these G.I.’s are ‘off limits’, and I have told you why! They are all after the same thing, and after they get all they want, then they’re gone and the girl isn’t likely to ever hear from them again. Now, I want you to get back into that car and take your ass home, and I mean straight home! You got that?

But what about Andy? What’s going to happen to him? Andy really wished she hadn’t asked. He really didn’t do anything, Daddy… he didn’t do anything at all!

It’s pretty funny now, but it almost sounded like she was disappointed because he hadn’t done more. If they had had a little more time, they would have been in super trouble when her old man showed up. He could see it now… the two of them, bare-ass naked in that back seat while her dad, a U.S. Army Major screamed his lungs out and pounded on the car with his fists. Things were bad enough. As it was, he would get his ass raked over the coals, and he knew it.

You just never mind what’s going to happen to him. That’s no longer your concern. Just pretend you two never met.

She started the car and sped down the narrow driveway that led from the parking lot and past the now empty bowling alley.

Well, that’s that, and that’s the end of it, the major said as he turned to face Andy. Now what do you propose I do with you? Andy tried really hard to think of something to say, but then decided it may be a wise choice to just keep his mouth shut. He knew too, that Liz’s dad would no doubt do whatever he wanted to do with him. The major motioned for Andy to get into the military police jeep.

Who is your commanding officer, he asked.

Captain Richard Quinn, Sir.

The jeep’s engine started and the shifter slammed into first gear. Like this prick knew every officer in the Fourth Army? Not hardly! The jeep jerked forward, and roared down the driveway.

So… You’re with the Thirteenth Artillery? It was more like a statement than a question. How did he know that?

Yes, Sir. Second Battalion, Thirteenth Artillery, Andy said, Headquarters Battery.

It just so happens that I know Captain Quinn.

Yes, Sir.

The major seemed to know where he was going. They crossed the railroad tracks, and then sped up the road that led to the area where the Second Howitzer Battalion was housed.

Don’t be thinking that you’re going to be getting off too easy, the major said, I’ll be having a chat with Captain Quinn first thing in the morning. Understand?

Yes, Sir.

I am sure he will let you know exactly how we’ve decided to handle this. Are you not aware that it is against regulations for you guys to fraternize with military dependents? Do you not understand? There is a good reason for this, you know?

Yes, Sir.

The jeep slid to a stop at the entrance to Andy’s barracks… Lucky guess!

In the meantime, Specialist, the major continued, you are to forget that my daughter even exists. For you and the rest of those like you, she doesn’t!

He turned the jeep around and peeled out. Andy was left standing there in a cloud of dust. He wondered how he could have screwed up so badly. He’d be lucky if he didn’t end up in the stockade. Liz had failed to mention that her father was a Major with the Military Police… and a prick!

The stockade didn’t happen. Liz’s dad pulled a few strings and saw to it that Andy would never be bothering his little girl again.

Now, he was on this big jet plane and headed for the unknown. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

Listen up! Listen up, you guys! Make sure them seatbelts are secure, and nobody lights ‘em up ‘til I say so. The voice of the old army sergeant came from the rear of the plane as he faced the uniformed passengers, who were now strapping themselves into their backward seats.

For you boys who don’t yet know where yer’ goin’…I’m fixin’ to tell ya’, so you’ll not be all that surprised when ya’ git there. Ever hear of Vietnam? He smiled from ear to ear, and that caused his fat cheeks to bulge upward and make his eyes look like two mean little slits.

As the plane roared down the runway, Andy closed his eyes again and thought about home. He could almost hear again what his mother had said as she, and not his father, had brought their conversation to an end…

He isn’t joining the Army to see the world or to sow any ‘wild oats’. If you weren’t so obsessed with his ‘becoming a man’, whatever that means, then you might realize that he’s doing this to get away from you. She knew she had hurt him, but she really hadn’t meant to. She only wanted to let him know that she too was hurt… because her husband and her son had never somehow managed to get along better. It was a mother’s kind of hurt, a hurt caused by a father’s expectations being just a little too high to meet.

The plane lifted off, and Andy looked around for the nearest window. There were only two windows on the entire plane, and each of them had a face pushed against it. The plane soon made a slight turn, and then leveled off.

The old sergeant stood up, turned around, and put his back against the wall.

Okay, men. Them that got ‘em can light ‘em up. Bein’ in good health ain’t gonna mean much where yer goin’, anyhow. Funny man.

Hey Sarge? What you gonna do after you get done holdin’ our hands an’ get us over there? You goin’ back ‘stateside’, or you gonna stay over there an’ fight with us? Our side, I mean.

The questions came from somewhere near the middle of the plane. The sergeant cupped a hand behind his ear to better hear them. The voice sounded really familiar to Andy, but he just couldn’t remember where he had heard it before. He rose out of his seat partway and turned to see who was making all the noise. When he saw who it was, he laughed loudly, and then stood up the rest of the way. He started up the aisle and toward the object of his amusement.

Private Finley! What an ungodly sight! I heard you got kicked outta the Army for wettin’ the bed. Andy gave his old buddy the Hi sign… a backward salute from above the left eye. A stocky, round faced, red haired PFC Dennis A. Finley blushed, and then returned the dumb salute.

Well, you can just kiss my ass! he yelled as came quickly down the aisle. I guess they let just anybody on these flights to ‘Nam’ don’t they?"

I reckon you’d be livin’ proof of that, Finley. It was the old sergeant, and as he came from the other way down the aisle, Dennis stopped beside Andy and waited for him.

Sarge, he said, I want you to meet one of the best buddies a guy could ever have… I told you about him before. We joined up with the Army on the ‘buddy plan’ and went through ‘basic’ together.

That’s right. Andy said. We were together from the first day, right up to the day Dennis flunked outta ‘Basic Training’. He had to go through ‘basic’ twice. I don’t know who had to hold his hand the second time around.

That would be me, said the sarge. He looked Dennis up and down, and then continued his story… Yeah, whenever some of the ‘crutes’ would mess up and have to go through ‘basic’ again, they’d put the whole bunch together and call it a ‘retrainin’ platoon. Then they’d give ‘em to me. It was my job to teach ‘em what they shoulda already learned. Most of ‘em did okay. Finley done better than most. He even ended up bein’ one of my squad leaders, and believe me, I’ve had a damned sight worse.

Sergeant Lemmon, Dennis said, this man here’s Andy Monk, prob’ly the smallest man ever allowed to join the Army. Look’s like he’s grown some since the last time I saw him. Bet he weighs all of a hundred an’ twenty-five pounds ‘soakin’ wet’. How tall? I’m guessin’ ‘bout five foot seven?

It’s closer to five feet eight, Andy said as he grabbed the old sergeant’s hand. Nice to meet you, Sergeant Lemmon.

Pleasure’s all mine, Monk, he said, and then he put a really stout handshake onto Andy’s puny little hand. I reckon I’ve known Finley ‘bout as long as you have and prob’ly a whole lot better. He’s a little slow sometimes, but I got the job done.

An’ molded me into the lean, mean, fightin’ machine that you see standin’ here before you today, Dennis added.

He was more like the pudgy wudgy, sleepin’ machine last time I saw him, Andy said. One night, they woke us up for a big surprise inspection. Everybody knew it was comin’… we even knew which night! They came in, woke us up, and then had us fall into formation outside. We were all lined up in four neat rows, but can you guess who was missin’? You remember that, Dennis? Where was our Private Finley? He was nowhere to be found. It’s kinda hard to get overlooked by a battalion commander when he’s inspectin’ the troops, so before long, you could hear the colonel all over the company area, yellin’ ‘what an ungodly sight, Private Finley’. He had found Dennis sittin’ at a table in the mess hall, sound asleep and as naked as the day he was born. Then the colonel made him come on out an’ get lined up in formation like that.

Yeah, Dennis said, but all you guys liked me, Huh?

" Sure… everybody liked you, Dennis. The platoon