Once Upon a Mulberry Field
Page 38
It will be a while before you’re old enough and can read the letter for yourself, even longer still before you start pondering the great mysteries of life. Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you get here? What was it like before you? By the time such natural questions sprout up in your awakening young mind, it’s most likely I will have been long gone. But it is my wish to leave you with enough information about our family history so that in your own time, if you so desire, you can piece together some of the answers for yourself. Toward this goal, my dear child, I shall make every effort to set down on paper, apart from this letter, my memory of the circumstances that brought all our destinies together and defined us as a family. For better or for worse, it is our shared story, the common thread that links and shapes all our lives. It’s only appropriate that it be preserved and passed on to your parents and you.
There’s one last thought I’d like to share with you before we part, something I haven’t told a living soul. Let it now be our secret, between Grandpa and you.
For the longest time after my return from Việt-Nam in 1968, I struggled to make sense of my experience over there, to glean some hidden meaning from its burden of sorrows and regrets. But all that did was raise new questions and create more doubt and frustration in my mind. In the end, I simply gave up and shut the door on that part of my life.
Until you all came along.
Meeting your parents for the first time was a tremendous godsend for which I couldn’t be more grateful. At my age and with my health, it was more than just a second chance. It was my final and only chance to connect with the family I never knew I had, and to enjoy this happiest blessing so often taken for granted. And then, on top of that, imagine my astonishment and immense joy when your parents announced the wonderful surprise of you. In that amazing moment, the answer I’d been searching for all along struck me.
Are you ready now for our secret, my little one? The answer, sweet and simple, was—you. All three of you. In the mysterious grand scheme of life, you were the real purpose, the ultimate reason why I got sent to Việt-Nam all those years ago. For it was in that land of monsoon and tragedy, the home country of your dear grandma, that our common destiny was to begin. It just takes a lifetime for the higher design to unfold, I now realize.
But I’ve rambled on long enough and you need a break from all this serious talk, I know.
I hope we’ll get to chat face-to-face some day, and you can ask me all the questions you want then. But no matter what the future holds for us, my sweet child, I am thankful to even have this opportunity to write to you. I welcome you to our family and wish you the best of luck in pursuing and fulfilling your personal destiny. Soon, it will be your turn to write your own story.
Just know in your heart: to Ông Nội always, you’re my true miracle.
Note To Readers
Thank you for reading Once upon a Mulberry Field. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other readers find this book by writing a review on Amazon.com, Goodreads, and other book lovers’ hangouts.
I invite you to check out my website and join my blog dialog at www.mulberryfieldsforever.com
You can also email me at clhoang@hotmail.com or get in touch with me via
www.facebook.com/clhoangauthor and
www.twitter.com/clhoang
Acknowledgments
Having finally reached The End, I thought I’d allow myself to use a cliché to describe this six-year enterprise as a labor of love, with emphasis on “labor.” Many people have helped me see it to fruition, and I’m indebted to all of them. I’d like to especially thank:
Kathryn Jordan and Arlene Prunkl for their expert guidance in the craft of writing and for their fine editing; Derek Murphy for the beautiful book cover; Nick Zelinger and Nick Taylor for the professional book designs (paperback edition and e-book edition, respectively);
Bob Grimes, whose unwavering support and encouragement inspired me to start, and to finish, the book; Becky Pirkle for proofreading the manuscript and making suggestions for improvement; Christy Wright, Dave and Sandy Carey, Dr. and Mrs. Peter Caldwell, Burcin and Jennie Ergun, Tom Overbaugh and Sirawat Mateerawat, and Kim Haddock for plowing through the early drafts and giving me constructive feedback.
Last but far from least, I’d like to thank my sisters Lan-Hương, Tường-Vân and my brothers Phong, Dzũng for their loving support and unabated enthusiasm throughout the project. This book is for you guys and your families.
About the Author
C. L. Hoang was born and raised in South Vietnam during the war and came to the United States in the 1970s. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and earns his living as an electronic engineer, with eleven patents to his name to date. Books, history, and travel are his hobbies, and Once upon a Mulberry Field is his first novel, a project from the heart that took six years to complete.
Website/Blog: www.mulberryfieldsforever.com
Other contacts:
clhoang@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com/clhoangauthor
www.twitter.com/clhoang
Appendix
Glossary of military terms
AAA Anti-aircraft artillery.
ARVN Army of the Republic of (South) Việt-Nam, under the government of Sài-Gòn. Its soldiers fought alongside Americans.
BOQ Bachelor Officer Quarters.
CAV U.S. Armored Cavalry (armored personnel carriers, light or medium tanks).
Charlie or Victor Charlie, aka VC, short for Việt-Cộng. Communist guerillas who fought against Americans. They were trained and supplied by North Việt-Nam, with the full backing of the Soviet Union and Red China.
CIDG Civilian Irregular Defense Group. A program sponsored by the U.S. government to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from minority populations.
CONUS The contiguous United States.
DEROS Date eligible for return from overseas. During the Việt-Nam War, it was the date when a serviceperson was to complete his or her one-year tour of duty.
Điện-Biên-Phủ Site of the climactic battle between the French and the Việt-Minh communist-nationalist revolutionaries. It culminated in a comprehensive French defeat and the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords that divided Việt-Nam into a communist North and a democratic South.
DMZ A demilitarized zone on the seventeenth parallel that came to form the border between North and South Việt-Nam. It was established by the Geneva Accords.
frags Shrapnel from fragmentation grenades or other explosive devices.
fragged sortie A sortie (combat mission) scheduled by a “frag (day-to-day operation) order”.
GMO General Medical Officer.
hooch A rugged hut/shelter for U.S. military personnel in Việt-Nam, made of plywood and screen and shared by two or more people.
LBR Local Base Rescue and Firefighting Team. Handling emergencies around or near the base.
MACV U.S. Military Assistance Command, Việt-Nam. Overseeing all of the various military units in Việt-Nam.
MEDCAP Medical Civic Action Program. Providing limited medical treatment to the local population.
NVA North Vietnamese Army under the communist government of Hà-Nội.
SAR Search-and-Rescue.
SOP Standard Operating Procedure.
TDY Temporary Duty Yonder (or Temporary Duty Assignment, TDA).
USAID United States Agency for International Development. Administering civilian foreign aid.
Việt-Cộng Guerilla army based in South Việt-Nam and trained and supplied by the communist North Vietnamese. Also known as VC, Victor Charlie, or just Charlie.