MY YEAR IN THE VILLAGE OF VUNG TAU AFTER HOURS

My year on the streets of Vung Tau after hours of working taking x-rays "of the world's inhabitants was no less than revealing. I wore my civilian clothes and reported to my "second job" as a "street trader." These experiences included selling cartons of Salem cigarettes for $ 4 at a PX price of about  $2.00. Bottles of booze were sold at a premium as were cameras, tape recorders and anything else and everything else the PX sold.

Corruption on the streets of Vietnamese villages was a way of life. Some guys fell deep, tried to sell illicit military goods and got caught ending up in the "slammer." I knew such a person who worked in Supply, loaded up his truck with white sheets and got caught by the MPs. I knew a sergeant in my company who would send MPCs (Military Payment Certificates) home for a fresh shipment of greenbacks.

Some Enlisted Men's Clubs had a series of slot machines. The slots had progressive meters for payment. The "fakes"..a.k.a. lifers tried to control ownership of the machines. One duffer-lifer was so "deep in the machine" in losses he TURNED THE MACHINE AROUND so nobody could win. I had the "balls" to go to the machine and put a dime in and pulled the lever. Lifers came at me from 4 directions!

Brother Mike Flanagan visited me one time staying at the Vung Tau R & R Center.. a place I was prohibited to go to because I was a "resident" of Vung Tau. Mike and I hit a slot for $250.00. The attendant bar tender said "It always ends up this way." A guy lost his shirt gambling and we claimed his shirt size 14.5 " We divided the pot and tipped our hats and slowly walked away.

For one year this activity occurred while other guys sought the Ladies of the Night... sadly American Soldiers  fough the war.There is absolutely no resolve in the Vietnam war. Fifty years my quagmire of memories grow, if anything. Today,o.5 % of the Vietnamese population speak French. French China formed in 1887. Coins were minted in England  and shipped to the Orient.

Now, I am an old man. I guess I was a  Merchant of Vietnam... In a small way, but in a way that opened up my eyes to the truth. As somebody once said "everybody did it, Bob." I don't know but I do know a lawyer by the name of Bartimo once lived in Spencer , Mass. and was sent to Vietnam to investigate the Black Market activities  for his boss.. The State Department. The amazing thing I observed as I liquidated his estate were the Polaroids found: Pictures of Vietnam's Black Markets!

Millions upon millions of dollars w

ere made illicitly...either in the BM or in Defense  Contracts. And you wonder why Vietnam won't go away!