Our Brave Men of the Green Beret
My wife was born in battle
Tet is our holiday.
I am married to a Vietnamese woman. And this is part of our story.
Remembrance and New Beginnings
It is on our calender today that it is Tet. Today in our house it is the equivalent of New Year's Day and we great each other with chuc mung nam moi. There are a ton of traditions that go with this holiday and they are mostly to do with giving reverence to others. I will give a few here and by no means suggest they are correct or universal for Vietnamese. Think of California where the north is totally different than the south and where we have city traditions and country traditions and coastal traditions and inland traditions and do not forget all our borders from Mexico to Oregon. To say that there are variations in traditions would be a great understatement.
Let us start with a remembrance of mine and take it from there.
My father in law was a best friend for several years and then died horribly in a motorcycle to bike accident. It was a great loss. Of a great man. My wife's father. It was said that he jumped out of a perfectly well flying machine over 100 times to scout and lead American Green Berets. (take my word for two things, he never said so and there ain't no records)
He is a hero. And it is an honor to have known him. A full honor to have his daughter as my wife and his grandson as my son, whose Vietnamese name is My San which means American Saint. After his capture after his last jump left his leg shattered and left behind. His wife quickly put my wife in hiding from the overrun of Saigon in 1975. My wife was one years old.
How could life sewn such a twisted fate.
Thriving and growing today
No Smoke being blown here.
Let me just tell it straight. I enlisted to fight in Vietnam, but some yahoo figured out I was only seventeen. I also protested the war and was arrested for such in 1972. I have always hated violence that was impersonal like battle. But I felt a duty to die with those who had not a choice, or maybe save someone. That is plenty about me.
Green Beret are different than you and me. They have what we do not. They are Sine Pari "without equal".
Perhaps they have women now but I imagine they would be not public. Think of these people as skilled in warcraft and James Bond stuff and culture and linquistics and psychological warfare.
Please just think about these folks
We pay homage to them on this day of Tet. Please just think about there sacrifice.
