It was a long drive back to Fort Meade, but a pleasant one. I certainly began to see the advantages of using a car for road trips rather than hitchhiking or taking a bus. And certainly much safer than hopping on a train and hoping you don't get caught or hurt. I rode the rails a few times when I was a teen. Never very far, just wanted to see if I could get on, get off, and find my way home. I figured it was good practice for the Army and it was. The best time to get on or off is when the train slows down for a bend in the track. Sometimes trains stop near junctions that have a track switch. That's the safest place to make a move. After that, you can just follow the track back until you see landmarks from where you got on. I only road the rails that way a dozen times or so. The excitement and novelty wear off quickly.
Time seemed to fly by, and then Alexandra went into labor. They tried to make me stay in the waiting room. I held her hand the whole time. It was a long 10 hours until at last our first child was born. We took turns holding her and later named her Catherine, after the famous Russian empress.
The joy of this event was overshadowed by the fall of Saigon a few months later in 1975. The news coverage was too depressing to watch, but I read some articles about it. The villagers of the outpost had been evacuated to Thailand, just as Trautman had promised. He also assured me that Binh, Sao Mai, and their closest relatives would be resettled in the US soon. I suggested they be relocated near me at Fort Meade. It would be good for me and them to see each other again.
The last few years of the war saw a new US strategy called Vietnamization, meaning that as US troops were gradually withdrawn, the South Vietnamese would no longer have US help with things like air support, artillery, and other heavy weapons and equipment. However, all those things still depended on ammo, fuel, and spare parts from the US. When Congress cut the funding to them, it was only a matter of time before the South Vietnamese military collapsed. The USSR and China continuously resupplied North Vietnam. China bordered North Vietnam, so the North Vietnamese had the advantage of very short supply lines. The US also never succeeded in shutting down the Ho Chi Minh trail, which the Viet Cong depended on for the bulk of their supplies.
The Watergate scandal soured me on politics for a time, though I had read enough history to realize that such events are to be expected. Many Roman emperors were deposed by their own bodyguards. In Nixon's case, he weaponized the FBI for use against his political opponents. At least he had the decency to resign after being impeached, though he has later pardoned by his successor Ford.
The pendulum of public opinion had swung in the favor of the Democrats for this and other reasons. Alexandra was also old enough to run for the House of Representatives. I began to research which seats would be available soon. The key was to look for the oldest Democrats in Congress, as they were the ones most likely to resign before the next election. As luck would have it, I found such a seat not too far away in northern Virginia. It was time to develop at platform and a campaign.
I suggested shifting money from certain weapon programs to veteran healthcare. I didn't want to get too controversial or ambitious. She, on the other, was all over the map. There hardly seemed to be a single issue she didn't want to take drastic action on. The tax code, education, healthcare, the military, foreign relations, the environment, homelessness...you name it, she had an idea for it. In that case, I explained, it's better to be as vague as possible to get elected, and then you can propose and vote for all the ideas you want. FDR campaigned against Hoover's excessive spending, and once elected, spent even more. He ended getting elected to an unprecedented four terms despite breaking his initial promise is such a flagrant way.
Other factors that would work in her favor included that she was relatively young, married, and a new mother. Her biggest liability, besides me, was how she dressed. I told her the hippie clothes would need to stay in closet during the campaign. It was time to dress like Jacqueline Kennedy. All those Ethels and Gertrudes in nursing homes needed to see younger versions of themselves when they saw her. I advised her to visit a few churches in the district and pay attention to how the women dressed and spoke. The better she could imitate that, the more votes she would get. It was important to visit a variety of Catholic and Protestant churches to get an idea of the average look. This was hard for Alexandra given her experiences in Catholic school as a girl, but she summoned the courage to enter the metaphorical lion's den once more.
Meanwhile, I had to get my story straight. I checked many newspapers near Amity and paid particular attention to the police blotters. I found no mention of my rampage, which was encouraging. I kept to myself at work but was generally respected for my language expertise. Trautman would vouch for me in a pinch, but I didn't want to ask any more favors of him. I decided that Binh and Sao Mai would be my most valuable allies. My plan was to tell a sanitized version of what I did in Vietnam if the issue arose, and those two could vouch for me. I met with them a few times. They were learning English fast but had accents most Americans would struggle to understand. Binh asked why I could not invite some of the US POWs we had rescued to stand together on stage during the campaign. I had honestly not even thought of that. It was time to call Trautman again.
"Hello, Sam. Hope civilian life is treating you well."
"The same to you, Tom. What's on your mind?"
"Those guys Binh and I rescued in Nam, could you get me their names? I'd like to get in touch with them."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Sam. You're best. Peace out, as my wife likes to say."
"Peace out, war in, feelin' groovy, far-out man? The way some people talk today makes no sense to me sometimes. Take care, Tom. Ta ta for now, as Tigger likes to say."
Odd that Truman knew about Winnie the Pooh. People are always full of surprises. Given his age, that would have been the popular kids' book of his childhood.
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