And so we made some Banh Mi sandwiches together. They came out OK. Pho stew would be our next culinary project. She insisted on vegetarian and seafood substitutions.
As my health and mood improved, she would bring home single servings of wine or beer for me, but that came much later. The NSA men returned with their polygraph equipment. Alexandra insisted on observing the interview.
"Good evening, Mr. Murphy. We're going to start with some control questions. Please answer with either a 'yes' or a 'no' unless instructed otherwise. Please tell me your name and year of birth."
"Thomas Murphy, 1945."
"Were you in the military?"
"Yes."
"Which branch?"
"Army."
"Where did you grow up?"
"Jefferson County, West Virginia."
"Who was your commander in Vietnam?"
"Colonel Samuel Truman."
"Have you ever been arrested?"
"Yes."
"Where and for what?"
"Amity, Washington state; various crimes"
"What crimes exactly?"
"Resisting arrest, assault and battery, grand theft auto, reckless endangerment, and attempted murder."
"Have you ever been arrested for anything else?"
"No."
"Alright, Mr. Murphy, that concludes the control question portion of the exam. We now have a baseline reading. Now I am going to ask you a broader set of questions. Have you ever used illegal drugs?"
"Yes."
"Which kinds?"
"I smoked marijuana and opium in Vietnam for a time. And once I was forcibly injected with scopolamine while a prisoner."
"Do you still use those drugs?"
"No."
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"Yes, but I stopped recently."
"When was your last drink?"
"About two months ago."
"Are you a homosexual?"
"No."
"Have you ever had sex with an animal?"
"No."
"Have you ever committed adultery?"
"No."
"Have you ever had sex with a prostitute?"
"No."
"Have you ever had contact with members of a foreign intelligence service?"
"Yes, when I was being interrogated and tortured."
"Did you divulge any information during that interrogation?"
"No."
"Have you ever been a member of a group that seeks to overthrow the US government?"
"No."
"Have you ever killed anyone for money?"
"No."
"Did you commit war crimes in Vietnam, as defined by the Geneva Convention?"
"Yes, I killed some unarmed and immobilized enemy troops."
"OK, Mr. Murphy. Just a few more questions. Do you consider yourself a loyal, patriotic American?"
"Yes."
"Do you have close, continuing contact with anyone who is not a US citizen?
"No."
"Will continue to seek treatment for your addiction and other psychological problems?"
"Yes."
"Do you love Alexandra?"
I decided this would be good time to look straight into her eyes while I answered.
"Yes."
"OK, Mr. Murphy. This concludes the exam. Thank you very much for your time."
The men packed up and left. I stood to face Alexandra. I thought she might have something to say. Instead, she a finger to her lips, hugged me, and led me to her bed.
I was anxious to get the results, and to keep my mind busy, I would spend most of the day at my typewriter. Alexandra would come home for lunch, and we would cook dinner together. She continued to take me to my various appointments. A few days after the house arrest sentence expired, I got a letter in nondescript envelope with no return address. It stated that I had passed the polygraph test and gave me a phone number to call plus some other instructions. I decided to confer with Alexandra.
"Looks like I passed the polygraph. What do you think I should do next?"
"Call the number and take whatever job they offer. We need to start making more money. We're running out of yours."
"I love it when a plan comes together. If I get a job, how about we tie the knot and make things official?"
"I picked out a dress months ago."
So I called the number and was offered a job translating Vietnamese at Fort Meade. I took it.
The wedding was a nice finale to a phase of my life I was eager to leave behind. Our honeymoon was spent in New York City, London, Paris, and Rome. Neither of us had been to any of those places. I was so used to traveling off the beaten path I never realized the benefits of going to big, famous cities. Rome was my favorite. There's so much ancient history there. Seeing the Colosseum and knowing that gladiators fought each other and lions there inspired my courage. I read that most gladiators died around the age of 25. Those guys burned out faster than rock stars. I wasn't a rock star, but I came close to joining the 27 Club. The Colosseum reminded me of a quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Meeting Alexandra's parents would be dicey. We needed to strategize for that. She had a checklist and a script for me. I didn't argue it. Basically, she picked an outfit for me and told me not to talk about what I did in Vietnam, except in a very vague way. And I was to remain silent on any other topic that reflected badly on me. I trusted her judgement. We had a pleasant dinner and chat. Alexandra painted me in the best light possible. Alexandra already knew my dad fairly well. It turned out she had been talking and meeting with him regularly during my last few months in Da Nang.
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