Arc Light TDY at my second Vietnam War home after Guam and the only Arc Light deployment that was not at Guam. 8. U-TAPAO TOUR MARCH 1975–MAY 1975 (Excerpt from the book “Flying the Line, an Air Force Pilot’s Journey.” The statute of limitation has run out on these episodes!) Arriving at U-Tapao, about sixty miles south of the capital, Bangkok, I found the mission greatly reduced. Since the armistice had ended hostilities in 1973, not much was happening at U-Tapao except occasional training missions. Mostly we just sat waiting for a possible re-ignition of hostilities, which did not happen, and which was fine with me. We lived in house trailers lined up in long rows just south of the American O’Club, with four to a trailer that was divided into two sections by the bathroom. Upon awaking, we would walk the short distance to the O’Club for breakfast and argue over what we would do that day. First question, should we have lunch at the US O’Club and dinner at the Thai O’Club down the main boulevard, or vice versa? Once we settled that, the next discussion centered on what activity we would pursue that afternoon— sunbathing, racquetball, or a three-mile run along the perimeter? The final discussion would involve our weekend trip plans, Pattaya Beach or Bangkok? These were our weighty wartime decisions. Usually we chose the Thai O’Club for dinner. They had a $5 lobster thermidor so tasty I would have paid $50 for it. The Thai waitresses flirted with the customers as they delivered Singha and Amerit beers. Once, Milo, also pulling a tour there, told a small gaggle of waitresses that we were going to Bangkok that weekend. One of them twittered: “Snake go Bangkok, find many holes!” This brought uproarious laughter from the other waitresses. In weeks after that, we would stroke our chins in serious contemplation and say: “Snake must go Bangkok again.” Milo had a girlfriend at the local brothel, “Swan Lake,” a gaudy complex next to a small lake near the base. Once, when he headed to Guam for an alert tour, he loaned me the girlfriend, “Wanna,” for the duration of his TDY. I dare not guess how she got that name. Wanna knew the GIs well and, although in her late twenties as we were, played sage advisor and mother confessor in addition to her, ah, standard duties. This perplexed. One of the most astute personalities I would encounter at U-Tapao would be this Swan Lake hooker. The bothersome revelation: I was born lucky; Wanna was not.”
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 16:33:56 +0000
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