by Tim White
I would tell them they needed a colonoscopy, and some of them were dumb enough to say, “That sounds good too.”
In Homer’s ancient ballad, he tells about the shocking incongruity of enemies following tradition and respect for one another in the midst of deadly violence. Homer’s poetic contemplation of humanity at war covers an area every soldier knows to be true. What are the consequences when warriors disregard their humanity and the rules of war? Sometimes this ends up in disaster, as with Achilles’ death, and other times it ends up with clever victory, as with Ulysses’ plan to leave a wooden horse as a memorial. Of course the horse was hollow and filled with Greek heroes who would sack the great city of Troy.
Ulee came upon a Buddhist monastery and orphanage. Ulee greeted a beautiful young Hmong Vietnamese lady who met him at the gate.“Chào buổi sáng Madam, tôi ahve đến để tìm hiểu về tôn giáo của bạn và xem những gì tôi có thể làm gì để giúp đỡ các trẻ em mồ côi” (Good morning Madam, I have come to learn about your religion and to see what I can do to help with the orphans.)
She spoke back, “Tôi không hiểu bạn - việt của bạn là rất nghèo. Bạn đang làm gì ở đây - chúng tôi không muốn có bất kỳ rắc rối.” (I don’t understand you–your Vietnamese is so poor. What are you doing here? We do not want any trouble.)
She took Ulee’s hand and led him into the convent. She pointed to herself and said, “Ahn” (a Vietnamese girl’s name which means intellectual brightness). Ulee responded by repeating her name and then pointing to himself and saying, “U . . . lee.” She pointed to him and repeated his phrase. She was beautiful and probably ten years older than Ulee. Ahn had large, beautiful, dark eyes, sparkling with intelligence. She had dark hair, full lips, and she was petite with small hands and feet and yet a shapely figure of a woman who was more than a girl Ulee’s age. She had an innocence and yet a worldliness to her as a woman who knew that she was attractive. When I saw her picture I felt like she was the antithesis of me. I knew that God had blessed me with beauty; as I said before, it was sometimes a curse. But let’s face it; most men are attracted to women, and the variety of beauty has tempted mankind since the dawn of time. Her long black hair was elegant and added serenity to her whole being as it interweaved with her complexion and features to create a rare woman. I suppose every person is that way if you can see it. And Ulee, in all of his loneliness, saw that beauty in Ahn.
A Buddhist priest came up to translate for them. He was old, maybe fifty years old. His head was hairless, his eyes twinkled, and he kind of glowed with love and peace. The priest had a radiant beauty about him that was missing from Ahn, despite her tranquility. Something about Ahn seemed deeply troubled—like many of the beautiful faces of the noble Vietnamese people who were experiencing the hell of war in their homeland.
The Buddhist monk spoke excellent English and said, “My samana (name) is Rhapseda Dawa. You can call me Dawa. I hear you are trying to learn our language.”
Ulee replied that he was a follower of Jesus Christ and needed a rest from the war and that he was a man who wanted peace and would like to help the orphans in the name of Jesus. Dawa asked, “Are you Catholic?”
Ulee said, “Yes, Catholics are my brothers and sisters in Christ. But I am a Native American and my father is a Protestant pastor.” Dawa invited Ulee to have some tea as Ahn brought it to them.
“You have an honest face, and you are a boy. What are you doing in the Marines?”
Ulee said, “It is a long story.” Dawa said, “We all have long stories. I do not say that Christians are evil, but let me tell you our story here in Vietnam.
“In May 1963, in the central city of Huế, where President Diem’s elder brother Ngo Dinh Thuc was the archbishop, Buddhists were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during Vesak celebrations, yet a few days earlier, Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at a celebration in honor of the newly seated archbishop. This led to widespread protest against the government; troops were sent in and nine civilians were killed in the confrontations. This led to mass rallies against Diem’s government, termed as the Buddhist crisis. The conflicts culminated in a Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc’s, suicide protest by lighting himself on fire. President Diem’s younger brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, favored strong-armed tactics, and Special Forces were sent to raid Buddhist centers, killing hundreds. Discouraged by the public outrage, the US government withdrew support for the regime. President Diem was deposed and killed in the 1963 coup.
“Political strength of the Buddhists grew in the 1960s as the different schools and orders convened to form the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Today, leaders of the Buddhists, like Thich Tri Quang, hold considerable sway in national politics.”
Ulee asked many questions from this learned monk. “What are your thoughts about this war?”
Dawa replied. “I am a communist and yet I don’t like many of the things that my side is doing in the war. I see their atrocities forcing our people to join the Viet Cong—punishing those who do not. But I believe you are here to fight for colonialism—the last failing attempt at the western powers to control as much of the world as you can.”
Ulee replied, “I have heard that opinion, but one idea does not rule a democracy. I am sure that there are economic and political interests that have those interests whether they would describe them that way or not. But many of us are not so much against communism as we are against the totalitarian governments from the Soviets and Chinese who want to control the world, and someone has to draw a line somewhere against a bully.”
“Are you a communist? Many Christians have practiced communism, even in the book of acts.” Dawa asked.
“But it didn’t work and the church of Jerusalem was so poor that Paul was raising money to help them,” Ulee said.
“I did not know that.”
“I think that if someone wants to be a communist it is all right by me as a failing economic system,” Ulee said. “I think it provides no incentive to work and no freedom to rise from the bottom to the top. I don’t think the capitalist system is perfect, but I hope it is on its way to become more honest and fair because it is governed by ever-growing democracy.”
“You are a worthy opponent in an argument,” Dawa said.
“I am not your opponent; we both have a love for orphans in common. Can I give you a hand around here?”
Dawa, said, “Yes, I think it is Karma.”
The rest of the day was spent trying to fix the roof of the orphanage and playing with the kids. Two young orphans were just enamored with Ulee. They, like many, may have been descended from unions between soldiers and village people. The bigger one Ulee called Plato and the little one, who seemed the opposite of the big one on every issue, he called Aristotle. They loved to play catch with the American football. Ulee treated them like brothers and the kids began to teach him Vietnamese. Since he already spoke English, Spanish, and Nez Perce, Vietnamese came to him without too much trouble. But he had a long way to go—and learning was a joy to him.
Ulee reported to his commanding officer, who told him that he was viewed as a special asset to the Marine Corps. He was going on loan to the ARVN 32nd Regiment operation in the An Xuyen province in Operation Quyet. It would begin at predawn on September 29. Five thousand South Vietnamese plus US advisors would be dropped behind Viet Cong forces and with grenade launchers and flame throwers, disperse Viet Cong strongholds. After this dispersion, sniper teams would pursue and eliminate the Viet Cong. Ulee said if he was going to be a sniper team that he wanted to choose his spotter and weapons.
Ulee chose Luau, the Samoan warrior who had become a close friend. Ulee asked for a new Remington 700 30-6 with a floating barrel and a state of the art scope for his weapon. He was also given a 44-magnum 626. Luau was issued the 44-magnum revolver and also carried a BAR, which was a 30-6 submachine gun that had become a mainstay of World War II and the Korean War. This way they could share ammunition. Ulee also took his
self-made recurve bow.
When he showed up to the commanding Vietnamese officer, Do Cao Tri, Ulee saw one of the K-9 squads, and he could not believe his eyes; there was a Beauceron. It must have been left over from when the French inhabited Vietnam. It was descended from the French-Vietnamese war dogs. Still to this day, Beauceron are a loved breed in Vietnam as police dogs. It looked exactly like his dog Argos. Only this dog was just three years old. Ulee asked for the dog and was given it, even though snipers never used dogs. It was well trained and some people say that Beauceron are the most intelligent of dogs. They bond so deeply with their masters that they can practically read their minds. They can open almost any door. Or if it is locked, they will chew a hole through it or just break it down. They are gentle with those who they should be gentle with but can sniff a criminal or VC out of a crowd. Ulee trained this one not to bark under any conditions. He slept with his new friend, Cerberus, ate with Cerberus, and spent all his spare time training Cerberus.
Cerberus terrified Ulee’s spotter, Luau. The big island kid wasn’t raised around dogs, but he trusted his friend, and Cerberus warmed up to him. And the children at the orphanage loved Cerberus.
The concept of American advisors for South Vietnamese forces was at this time just a cover. A dozen extremely effective sniper teams from the US were sent in to set up ambushes for the fleeing Viet Cong. It was dirty work; Ulee hated it. And Luau was wrestling with the mission also. But they felt that each life that they took from a Viet Cong saved at least one life of their buddies. That was the code of the sniper. They were dropped in before the South Vietnamese attack on the Viet Cong, and they took the time to acclimate themselves to the environment.
They were placed in the high country, setting up ambush as the South Vietnamese and American advisors swept this area to eradicate the Viet Cong. This area happened to be the same location of the My Lai massacre in March 16, 1968, where 345 villagers were killed under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, who was tried and convicted and later pardoned by President Nixon to two years of house arrest. It was an area known since the French and Japanese rule as a center of the resistance movement. It was a Viet Cong stronghold.
In central Vietnam near the coast, disease and mosquitoes were rampant. Ulee and his team found cover in the high ground, about a thousand feet above sea level. Ulee used the mosquito ideas he had used in the Wallowa Mountains. In the high mountains, millions of mosquitoes hatch at the same time when the high meadows melt during a brief summer month. They used mosquito net hats and gloves. With a tight silk weave for long underwear, they only used repellant when necessary. Ulee did not want bug spray aroma to give away his position. Mud made from termite nests would have to do as their repellant (this has been used by jungle natives since the dawn of time). At night, he and Luau would stare at the night stars. They would talk about how small the planet was and how big God was.
Luau was a fundamentalist believer, and he told Ulee that he had promised God that he would go and fight for the Israeli army if he was ever needed because he still believed that the Jews were the chosen people of God. He asked Ulee to promise him to go fight in one war for the Israelis if Luau died in Vietnam. Luau was married to a Jew whom he had met on a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel with his church.
“No I am not going to promise another war. I hate war,” Ulee said. “But I love you, Luau. I am not going to let you die.”
As the Viet Cong retreated, Ulee and Luau ambushed a dozen. They both felt sick when they policed the bodies for information that could be used. Some were old men, some were kids, and one was a young woman. Luau vomited after they saw the results of their ambush. He had never seen anyone fire as fast or effectively as Ulee when he unleashed his Remington 700. Every shot dropped an enemy, and he reloaded his four-round rifle so fast that it was unbelievable. Luau served as a diversion with high-powered spray of 30-6 bullets from a BAR light machine gun. When they took cover, Ulee picked them off with his scope. They were at 300 yards, which was a guaranteed shot, and Ulee moved after each four shots. Luau moved after each magazine was emptied. It was all a nightmare as Luau thought back about it, seeing the number of heads shot on the Viet Cong.
Under the cover of darkness, Ulee hunted with his bow. It seemed that Ulee had a gift for going a couple weeks at a time with only catnaps when in the field. After the initial ambushes, they switched tactics to stalking, just as if he were hunting. This was where Cerberus and Ulee’s tracking skills were used with an amazing degree of efficiency. When they identified an old person, a woman, or a child, they let them pass. They knew that this was not up to the mission protocol and their brothers in arms would tell them that many troops had been killed by the elderly, women, and children. But they limited their targets to male combatants of fighting age.
They were pulled out in the midst of a firefight. It started as an ambush, but they were being stalked by Viet Cong who seemed to know every move that Ulee would make. Ulee and Luau called themselves Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but their Vietnamese allies couldn’t even pronounce it. And the fellow American advisors just called them kids. But they carried out their nicknaming game by calling their smart VC enemy Pinkerton from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This guy seemed unavoidable as they kept saying who is this guy. He had been trained in Russia and was the most formidable foe they had met. “Pinkerton” also organized his forces in an invincible way until a mortar wounded Ulee and Luau, as well as Cerberus during an ambush. Luau picked up Ulee, who had taken a frag in his butt, and ran firing his BAR with incredible effectiveness. Luau saved Ulee’s life and took both his friend and Cerberus to the LZ. Ulee put Luau in for commendation, and he received a medal from the South Vietnamese government (as did Ulee), a bronze star, and they both received a purple heart.
When Ulee was on the offshore hospital ship, he and Luau couldn’t shake the shame that they felt for all the close-quarters killing. It especially bothered Ulee, and Luau could not comfort him. Ulee felt better once he returned to the Buddhist orphanage, trying to make a positive mark for this country torn by war.
As he worked on a playground for the kids, Ahn brought him water. Cerberus played with the children, licking them and herding them. Ahn was a beautiful woman, but Ulee’s heart was given to me—and he still considered me the most beautiful woman in the history of the world. Or at least that is what he told me. He sang to me and wrote poetry to me attesting to my beauty and nobility. But Ulee needed a friend, and Ahn had a beautiful heart.
Dawa was always nearby and one day brought Ulee and Ahn lunch.
“We know what you did the last month. You killed many of our people,” Dawa said to Ulee.
“So you are VC, Dawa?”
“No, but I am connected, as are many Buddhist monks. How does that make you feel as a follower of Jesus Christ to break one of the Ten Commandments over and over again?”
Ulee told him the truth. “It makes me feel horrible, guilty, shameful, and still alive.”
“I think you are on the wrong side,” Dawa said.
“I think you are on the wrong side,” Ulee countered.
“And how would a Nez Perce from Oregon know what is best for our country here in Vietnam?”
“I have read Mao Zedong’s little red book—have you?”
“Yes,” replied Dawa.
“Do you think the dictatorship of the proletariat is the best for your people? Do you think totalitarian rule under a dictator is ever safe? I also have read the entire works of Karl Marx. Leninist Marxism and Mao’s Marxism believe in a world revolution that would take away the rights of all individual freedoms in hopes that someday some communist society can work its way through the dictatorship of the proletariat. What about Mao’s Cultural Revolution, where it was My Lai times a thousand? Don’t you think that if Marxism takes over Cambodia that the same kind of massacre could happen there? Do you know that Trotsky helped lead the communist revolt and yet was killed in Mexico when he became disgusted with th
e way it was going? I think the domino principle is a theory, but once Vietnam falls, Cambodia falls, South Korea falls, the Philippines fall, and Japan will be invaded. Stalin killed more in his concentration camps than Hitler ever dreamed,” Ulee preached.
The Buddhist monk yelled back, “And you are in the region where the My Lai massacre took place.”
“Yes,” said Ulee, “and my people have been massacred also. There is evil on every side. But that does not absolve those of us who can to do what we can to fight for the right with the justice that transcends war. Aristotle said that all war is inherently evil because the government becomes the parent and the warriors lose their human freedom. I believe war is too important to leave to evil men. That good men must do what is right and stand up for what is right.”
“Well,” said Dawa, “we disagree again.”
“Yes,” said Ulee, “but we are friends.”
“How do you know I am not just using you?” asked Dawa. “Maybe I have lured you here with the beauty of Ahn.”
“If you know what I have done on the battlefield than you know that I am not afraid of you or your connections. And as for Ahn, I love a girl named Penelope and I have given my heart to her just as I have given my heart to Jesus.”
“What if I am VC?”
“Then I pray that you represent the moral warrior on your side that I do on my side and that we may respect one another during the insanity of war.”
Ulee knew this was a dangerous relationship, but he trusted his heart and his skills. It was not a new idea for the Nez Perce to respect their enemies and to converse with them. His involvement with the children gave him a chance for sanity and an opportunity to hold on to his faith in this crucible that he had been placed in. And his understanding of his enemy’s culture, philosophy, and wilderness skills were invaluable for him to keep his friends alive. He felt like the jungles of Vietnam were his home, and that made him a very dangerous warrior.