Action Report
Subject: Memorial
Day Writers’ Project
(MDWP)
Activity: Poetry, Prose and Song on the Mall
Date: May 28, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
(Behind
the sidewalk facing 20th Street and Constitution
Ave.)
Weather: Overcast, warm, muggy.
It was a good day.
We had some guitar-toting Forward Air Controllers
(FACs), two singers/songwriters,
a harmonica player, two journalists and eleven
poets. We missed some old friends and welcomed
some new friends. To all of those who could not
be with us, we think of you often and wish you
the best.
Chaplain/poet
Gerald Ney (173 Airborne) started us off with
a nice invocation. Holley
Watts (Donut
Dolly, ‘66-‘67, 3rd Marine Amphibious
Forces, Cu Chi, DaNang, An Khe, and Phu Bai)
broke the ice with a poem entitled “47
W,” a
touching poem about a veteran’s first visit
to the Wall. Holley brought her new chapbook “Mud
Sox ‘n Other Things.” Proceeds from
her chapbook are being used to help support the
production of a soon-to-be released documentary
entitled “A Touch of Home: The Vietnam
War’s
Red Cross Girls.” Ask her about it. Holley
can be reached at holleywatts@yahoo.com. You
can see a trailer of the movie at: http://www.arrowheadfilms.com/atouchofhome.html
Rich
Barrett (USMC) read from an article he wrote,
which recently appeared in “VietNam Magazine.” Rich’s
five-page article is about the highly decorated,
Medal of Honor recipient Col. George Everett “Bud” Day
and fellow POW John McCain. Bud was flying the
two-seat F-100F as Commander of the "Misty" or
Fast FAC unit that replaced the O-1E Bird Dog
over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in mid-1967,
when
he was shot down, multiply injured from the ejection,
and captured. Bud is the only American to escape
prison while in North Vietnam, though he was
recaptured (and reinjured) after approx. two
weeks of evasion.
Jonathan Myer, Dave MacKay and welcomed newcomer
John Ojala (from Detroit) serenaded us with
tales and true stories about the lives and
deeds of
FACs and other flyers over Southeast Asia.
They did
two sets throughout the day. Here’s a
listing of the songs they sang. Many of these
songs are
available on CD:
- Ba
Muoi Ba. Green Beret Barry Sadler's song about
a Montagnard striker and
how his enjoyment
of Ba Muoi Ba ("33") beer would get
him into trouble.
- Cobra
7. Toby Hughes's story of a III Corps FAC who
comes to the aid
of a downed Army helicopter
crew, at the cost of his own life.
- A
Death in the Dak Na Valley. Jonathan Myer's
account
of fellow-FAC Art Abramoff's
last mission
and ensuing rescue attempts of 20 January
1967.
- Different
Missions. EB-66 pilot Bill Rothas's poem about
the loss of his Aviation
Cadet
classmate, F-105 pilot Dick Allee, on
21 December 1968.
- D-Day
Dodgers. An ironic response to Lady Astor's
slur against the British
Eighth
Army,
which fought its way up Italy during
WW-II.
- O-1E
Song. F-105 pilot Irv LeVine's comparison of
his role and risks with
those of a "Bird Dog" FAC flying "low and slow" beneath his "Thud."
- One-Level
Gunner. Toby Hughes's look at the uneasy relationship
between
an
F-4 unit and the NVA gunner assigned
to shoot them down.
- Raven
20 and Scar. John Ojala's ode to his brother-in-law
Dick
Defer (Raven 20) and his Hmong
backseater "Scar," shot
down over the Plain of Jars,Laos,
on 18 October 1971. (See http://www.ravens.org/dickdefer/defer.html)
- Raven
FAC Battle Hymn. The Raven FACs' version of
Dick Jonas's "Battle
Hymn of the Red River Rats," in which they toast their own lost comrades.
- Raven
FACero. A ditty about a Raven FAC who loved
not wisely but too well ... and paid the
price. (Jim Roper swears
it is
not autobiographical.)
- Sher-Babes.
Toby Hughes's "love song" to his F-4 "Phantom
II" (named after his wife), which took hits over Khe Sanh but still brought
him home.
- Skin
That Tiger. Jonathan's ballad about a tiger-skinning
for Soeur Marie Louise (director of Kontum's leprosarium
for Montagnards),
which
He witnessed
at Kontum's B-Team compound in the summer of 1966.
- Sycamore
Tree. Dave MacKay's allegory about Vietnam, "a friendly little
country...run by the Cong" who were "a thorn in the side" of
the U.S.
- Tchepone.
Toby Hughes's "cowboy tale" of an F-4 pilot inveigled
into an air strike on that "peaceful" Laotian town -- and it’s
deadly response!
- Teak
Lead. A Red River Rats' song about their
strike fighters' "Teak" call
sign: So many "Teaks" were KIA that the Air Force retired the call
sign!
- The
Aging Pilot. Jonathan's latest, about his
transition from "dashing
young man in his flying machine" to
old codger in his second childhood....
- The
Wall. Green Beret Tim Murphy's haunting retrospective
on the symbolism
of the Vietnam
Veterans' Memorial
-- "our Wall."
- "Willie" Willbanks'
One-Man War. Jonathan's memorial to FAC classmate
Hilliard A. Wilbanks, the Air Force's
second MOH awardee (and first awarded posthumously):
Willie saved 100 ARVN Rangers and their U.S.
Army advisers from
an NVA ambush,
but at the cost of his life -- a month
before his DEROS.
- Young
Covey. A parody of the Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley," this "Covey" (i.e.,
out-of-country) FAC is warned to be
a mite more careful!
- Your
Flying Special. Jonathan's recognition of
the bond between combat
flyers and
their aircraft -- may they "Bring
all of you boys back home"!
Co-founder
Mike McDonell (USMC) read from
the MDWP Anthology, “Magilla,” Mike’s
first poem about Vietnam; a
poem about James McGill, listed
on Panel
20E, Line 105. While thumbing
through an old notebook, Mike
came across
some poems he forgot
he had--poems not heard before
at the Writer’s Tent.
We’re
sure glad he found him. The
following summary is provided
by Mike.
I
keep a lot (but not all) of
my "Vietnam writing" in
a large black, 3-ringed binder
that I only look at twice
a year: at Veteran's Day
and
Memorial
Day. Some pages I haven't
looked at in years. Such
was the case
during this last Memorial
Day reading. As I sat listening
to the poetry and music,
I
sat idly
turning pages and happened
to look down at the page
I held between my forefinger
and thumb: "Quang Nam
Hill Fights #2 Lance Corporal
John Charbonnet".
The voice was of a young
Marine sitting in a deep
hole in the
dark 40 years ago in Quang
Nam, Vietnam.
I
thought she was so deep, I dug a hole that
deep and named it for her: Maggie's Hole.
From the bottom of it, these nearby stars
looked so far away. Then they
made us move off that hill
and take another. That's where I got her
letter. 'Dear John" she wrote. That
was me all right and then she dumped me.
So I pitched out Maggie's drawers and wrote
her back: What did you see in me and how
has it
changed? "You were a
handsome young Marine and
now you've changed and so
have I," she said. "We
never really knew each other,
time goes by, la même
chose." The same thing.
God, was I lucky; if I'd
dug a hole as deep as that,
I'd be killed by grazin'
fire. Instead, I'm looking
at the Southern
Cross from way down near
the bottom of my brand new
fighting hole. It's got no
name, unless it's mine. And
Maggie, she's a million miles
away and furthest from my
mind. Further than those
stars the blood-moon's slowly
chasing across the
velvet sky. Further than
God's smile and the Bayou
des Chiens." Dear
John letters are tough to
handle, but this young Cajun
Marine is making the best
of it. Or is he?
I've
written several of these first person
narrations under
the title "Quang
Nam Hill Fights". Some
people call them "flash
fiction". I call
them very short stories.
I try to capture the sound
of a voice as it narrates
a story. They all had their
genesis during Operation
Union I and II which began
April 21, 1967 which I participated
in, and which occurred in
and around the Que Son Valley
in southern Quang Nam province.
I recently read an account
of
this operation by historian
Lt.Col. Otto Lehrack, USMC
(Ret.) who wrote: "Between
this date (April 21) and
the end of 1967, more Marines
and Navy corpsmen would die
in the Que Son Valley than
on any other piece of real
estate in the war.
More were lost than at Hue,
or Khe Sanh, or Con Thien." I
lost count of how often we
headed south from Da Nang
towards that valley. It was
always a
good place to be leaving
in 1967. In 1997 I returned
to Viet Nam and visited the
Que
Son Valley. The mountains
still surround it and the
Ly Ly River is a silver thread
running along the valley
floor. It was good to see
it again in peace."
Gerald
Ney read several poems
sent to him including “Visiting
Hours” by
Jim Rose, President, Galveston
County Chapter 685, VVA
President, and member Army
Transportation
Association Vietnam; “Return
to Nowhere” by E.
T. Thomas and “A
Vietnam Wife,” by
Mary Rogers, in addition
to several of
Gerry’s own poems.
First
timer Dick Richards (USN) finally visited with
us. Dick
read his poems
from memory
and gave us that
unique USN
point
of view.
Dick read “Staying
On Station,” “Enjoy
a Starry Sky Some Night,” and
a poem about a first
love: “To
Know the Love, To Know
the Pain.” When
Dick took to the floor
a second
time, he told us an interesting
story about ‘borrowing’ another
ship’s bell. We
hope Dick will join us
again
Our
host Dick Epstein got a couple poems in
between
set-ups. Dick
read two new
poems written
by Clyde
Wray and one of
his own poems “Room
3A,” depicting
a typical night in Saigon
(during Tet of course).
Gary Jacobson (1st
Cav) flew in from Idaho.
It
was Gary’s first
visit to the Wall.
Gary read from his
book “My Thousand
Yard Stare.” This
is a whopping 270-page
book of poetry and
color photos. You can
find some of Gary’s
work at http://pzzzz.tripod.com/namtour.html or do a google search
on his name. Thanks
for joining
us Gary.
Singer/songwriter
Alexandra Lajoux
came to sing
and spent the afternoon
with
us. We
could hear
her harmonizing
with
the FACS
throughout
the day. She passed
out copies of her
CD and sang its title
song “We Thank
You.” Alexandra
was accompanied by
a guitar strumming
photojournalist,
Rick Steele, who
recently
been to Iraq). Rick
did a great job singing
John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Visit
Alexandra’s
Web site www.AlexisMusicStudio.com/links.
Alexandria and Rick
did three
songs. Maybe next
year,
we can get them to
add another
one.
It
was good to have first timer
Odessa
Maxwell
with us. Odessa
is a West
Point Graduate,
mother of three
and a dog trainer
to boot.
Odessa
read
several poems
from her chapbook:
Thoughts of My
Mind, Heart and
Soul. Odessa
read: “Beautiful
Woman Thou Art,” “Youthful
Promise,” “Prayer
for You,” ”So
Far So Close,” and “No
Choice of His Own.” Each
poem is a story.
Odessa also had
copies of her CD
available
for sale.
Terry
Lockridge (USMC)
read a poem
written
by author
Doug Todd: “That
One Guy” and “I’ll
Find Someone for
You,” a touching
poem about Robert
Haines (KIA) and
another old favorite: “Do
Not Stand at my
Grave and Weep.” Both
poems can be
seen at: http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/2311/illfind.html.
Terry also told
us of recently
receiving a Bob’s
dog tags, which
were purchased
from a shop in
Ho Chi Minh
City by a group
called the Cana
Mission.
To support
this effort and
to find out more
information information
see: http://www.canamission.com.
Steve
McKennon, a local poet involved
in Poets
Anonymous,
joined us for
the first
time. Welcome
Steve. Steve
read “Dyslexic
Postmen,” “Alien
Landscapes,” “Homecoming
vs. Dying Thoughts” and “Popcorn
Sandals;” all
quite different
from our battle
scenes.
I saw old friend
Joe Mitchler
walk by twice.
Sorry we
didn’t
get to hear what he has been
doing.
Bernie Williams
wants to spread
the word
about a
new Website
aimed at
helping writers
and poets who
can
use some help
in obtaining
advanced public
awareness
of their writings
as well as publication
offerings and
book signings.
The site
is: http://www.nmcommunications.com/ Historian,
author, and storyteller,
Lad Carrington
just got some
metal rods tucked
not too gently
into his back.
Lad won’t
be on his Harley
for a while.
We’ll
have to wait
until a while
to hear
his “Give
me the Wind” and “Have
you Seen my America?” a
poem about touring
our country on
motorcycle and
his idea
of what makes
a hero.
Who
else did
we miss? Dolf
Droge
(NSA Specialist,
advisor to
Presidents Johnson,
Nixon, Reagan,
and former
local talk show
host), Ed Henry,
Briah Conner,
Clyde Wray,
Roy Correnti,
and Cathy and
Daryl Solomonson.
We
hope they
will be
again
with us soon.
That’s a fairly accurate picture of what
went on Memorial Day 2007. It was a good day.
Hell, it was a great day, being together, honoring
the memories
of veterans
we knew and those we didn’t
know. A day
of honor and a day of remembrance. Thank
you all for
sharing yourselves, for raising your voices
so that others
won't forget,
so that names
on the Wall will never be just names.
I Hope to see
many of you again next Veterans Day.
God Bless. |
