University of Virginia Library

Vietnamese Parasites

For them we have contempt and
suspicion. For to the American
soldier in Vietnam, all the Vietnamese
are parasites. Vietnamese
are "hooch maids," K.P.'s, laborers,
bar girls and prostitutes - or else
they clog the streets and high ways,
seeming to dare you to run them
over. Whatever they are the relationship
is always buyer-seller: they
provide and you pay. And they are
always wanting. And what you
don't give them they try to steal.

The Vietnamese I trusted as
much as I would trust a stranger
number less than half a dozen -
and even of them I was never sure.

One night I was in Hue taking
pictures for a story on the Nhi
Dong (Children's Festival) celebration.
The streets were thick with
crowds, and I was trying to watch a
camera and a pistol and forgot
about my wallet. It and its contents
are now, I presume, on the black
market.