I, Soldier - part 6

The radio class was a little harder. I knew that encryption was best, but since the men were unlikely to do it properly, I told them to only speak in Montagnard on the radio and taught them how to use a radio in single-channel plaintext mode. Interestingly, this is what of a lot of US troops did as well during Vietnam, because they were too lazy to set up the encryption and figured the VC and NVA had few English speakers. Turns out they had many who while not fluent, could understand enough English to get an advantage big enough to tip the scales in a close fight. The enemy is always smarter than you think. Never underestimate them. This principle can also work in reverse through what the Chinese call the empty fort strategy. A commander ordered his men to hide and open the fort gates when the enemy army approached. The enemy general, sensing a trap, immediately marched his soldiers back the way they came.

During the war, the National Security Agency provided American troops with an encrypted radio system called NESTOR. Unfortunately, it required two men to carry, and the two devices had to stay connected with a wire, which made it very hard to move through thick vegetation without getting tangled up. I never got to use a NESTOR, but I figure it was decent system for an office in a rear area or any other fixed position. It’s the unlikely the engineers who designed had much experience going out on patrols, else they would have realized their idea was not practical. This sort of problem happens in all kinds of fields. There’s even an ancient Greek story about it. A bunch of mice had meeting to figure out how to deal with a cat that had recently arrived. One suggested tying a bell around the cat’s neck so it couldn’t sneak around. Another mouse asked, “then who will tie the bell on the cat?” The lesson is that it’s easy to propose impractical solutions.

Communication is important and takes many forms. The day after I graduated high school, the homecoming queen mailed me her underwear. I still don’t know if that was meant as a compliment, an insult, or a marriage proposal. It’s the thought that counts, I guess. Later in college, I became friends with an outspoken feminist. She invited me to this weird bar that was full of women in flannel with bad haircuts. That was the night I learned two things: what a lesbian is and that she was not one. The great philosopher WC Fields said: “Women are like elephants, to me: I like to look at them, but I wouldn’t want to live with one.” I believe he also said, “don’t try to understand women; women understand women and they hate each other.” That might have been some other wise man though.

But I digress. Often.

Life in the village near the outpost was pleasant. I was never much of a cook and appreciated being invited to many meals. I never ate better in my life than my time in Vietnam. There was a young woman named Sao Mai who cooked for me often and brought me food out to wherever I happened to be at the time. Her name means Morning Star. Later, Binh explained to me that she was smitten with me and that is how Montagnard women propose marriage. She was so beautiful, but I came to Vietnam to fight, not make love. I asked her to come with me on a moonlight stroll whereupon I explained my feelings. I told her that if survived the war, I’d marry her and take her back to the US with me, but that might be years away and she’d probably be happier with a local husband. I still remember seeing a single tear roll down her face as she whispered, “I understand”. It saddened me to break her heart like that, but I needed to be realistic. In time, she recovered and continued to cook for me. Every relationship is a just a set of mutual interests and goals. The key is keeping your expectations in line with the degree to which those interests and goals overlap.

There’s no sugarcoating it; I’m not the romantic type. I doubt that raises many eyebrows. Death smiles at everyone, soldiers smile back. At least that’s how I handle it. There is a long tradition of stoicism among warriors around the world and throughout history. Zen is very nearly the Japanese equivalent of stoicism. It’s a school of Buddhism that teaches being focused on the present and being emotionally unattached to the outcome of whatever it is you’re doing. Interestingly enough, when you don’t care about the outcome, you are more likely to succeed because you are more relaxed during the task. In a similar way, Norse mythology taught that it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, only if you were brave or not. Norse mythology changed my life. My favorite story was about what Thor did during Ragnarök, the Norse version of Armageddon. Though he had been told by the Odin, god of magic, wisdom, and prophecy, that he would die along with all the other gods, Thor still waded into the sea to meet his fate in battle with a giant serpent named Jormungand. The serpent arose from the sea and was spraying venom into the air that was killing all living things. Thor waded into the sea and was bitten fatally on the shoulder. Right after that, he struck its head with his hammer called Mjolnir. The serpent bled as it sank. Thor took nine steps on the shore and fell down dead.

So as you can see, there’s a lot more to being a good soldier than running around shirtless and decked out in ammo belts like Pancho Villa. On a side note, I will add that it’s best not to wear ammo belts like a beauty queen sash because it makes it harder to crawl and the ammo will get dirty and dented, thus making it more likely to jam your machine gun. Not that I’d know from experience, of course. I read that in a book by a guy who fought in Korea. Books are condensed experience and they’re way faster, safer, and cheaper than learning things the hard way. So good on you for reading this book. I hope you read many more like I did.