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War Crimes - Dong Ha Haiku

As part of its War Crimes project haikumania presents Dong Ha Haiku by Ty Hadman. This piece was first published in 1982 by Smythe-Waithe Press in Kentfield, CA  and remains a powerful piece of work - paul t conneally December 8, 2000.

DONG HA HAIKU


(Dong Ha was one of the poorest villages in South Vietnam in the province of Quang Tri, just a few miles south of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) near the Cua Viet River where I was stationed in the Marines with a rifle company from 2/29/68–4/3/69.)

this one last kiss
      before I leave for the war
            this winter

(Travis Air Force Base, CA
 February 23, 1968)

 

dusk’s darkness deepens
   along the lines the whispering
       of tonight’s password

I’ve got the jitters . . ....
no sign of movement
except these fireflies

no enemy seen
but I get a good look
at myself

 

the first letter
from his girlfriend arrives
she says she’s pregnant

in the rear truck
of a long convoy
the dusty road

 

sugarcane fields
the beautiful countryside
swarming with snipers

concertina wire
a water buffalo
wiggles through

Concertina wire is a type of coiled barbed wire used to make it more difficult for the enemy to sneak across the lines.

sweeping the road
for antipersonnel mines
the sun gets hotter

rust colored water
not even enough
to bathe with

The scarcity of water was a permanent situation. Only commissioned officers were permitted to use water to bathe. The rest of us either had to go months on end without bathing or take our chances bathing in the shallow river where enemy snipers were often waiting. I came down with amoebic dysentery twice and was hospitalized on both occasions due to having to drink the filthy water. Medicinal plants have helped me a lot over the years, but I still suffer from colitis to this day.


heavy casualties;
I don’t give a damn about
this moon tonight

survivors in small boats
looking for a new place to live
the war drags on and on

minute by minute
hour after hour
the days go by

filling sand bags in the hot sun
soul brothers singing
soul music


Filling sand bags under a hot sun in high humidity was a frequent activity. They were used mainly to build new bunkers or fortify old ones. They were also used to hold down the tin roofs of Quonset huts during the monsoons.

because of this war
I become close friends
with an American Indian

men
killing
men

it’s quite impossible
to kill all of them —
mosquitoes attack!

 

Many of the mosquitoes carried malaria and other nasty tropical diseases.

crickets stop chirping
I awake
with a start!

that fat rat just stares

inside the bunker
in the candlelight

my bayonet gleams

War is HELL!
Along the DMZ
not one flower

(Khe Sahn)
 

The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separated North Vietnam from South Vietnam. The area was an eerie sight like the cratered surface of the moon. All vegetation had been destroyed by the bombing and use of chemical defoliants.

peace symbol
and the word LOVE
on his helmet

village off limits
she’s glad
I came

Tet:
both armies
wet

Tet is the month of the Vietnamese New Year and Buddhist religious celebrations and observances according to the old agrarian lunar calendar. A time of strength and strong beliefs. The Viet Cong launched their bloodiest attacks and offensives during this time. I had the misfortune of having to experience two Tets. It also marks the short but intense rainy season and monsoons.
 

rain . . .
blood
& mud

rain soaked and cold
without moving an inch
I let the warm urine flow

sitting in a hole
wondering what the hell
am I doing here?

waiting in ambush . . .
our hands touch as he hands me
an extra grenade

returning to camp
with one less buddy
darkness deepens

suffering from battle fatigue,
the war came to an end
in a dream

dead bodies arrive
the soldier on duty
continues eating

Little kids yelling,
"You number One! Want boom-boom?
Want Coca-Cola?"

Boom-boom was the word they used for prostitute. They also offered bags of opium and marijuana. Absolutely nothing else except for bottles of Coke. It seems these are the three things you can find just about anywhere you go in the world even in places of extreme poverty where food and water are not available.


my 21st birthday
oh how I’ve aged
this past year

(February 9, 1969)

dawn
only ONE man
dead

waiting for a flight out
I watch several new men arrive
and a tear appears

Written on my last day in Vietnam while waiting on the airstrip.

the crying boy
just can’t understand why
I broke his toy machine gun

I’m now back in the United States again.

Memorial Day service —
a young man prays hard
handless

shaking his cup
of coins with vehemence
the crippled vet

 

All work is copyrighted by Ty Hadman and should not be reproduced without permission.

This page is part of haikumania project run by paul t conneally

 
haikumania       

War Crimes - Marine Boot Camp Haiku

Continuing haikumania's presentation of Ty Hadman's work as part of the haikumania
War Crimes Project we present "Marine Boot Camp Haiku". This piece gives us a real
feeling of the often brutal Boot Camp culture that even now prevails in armies around
the world. - paul t conneally December, 2000.

                         MARINE BOOT CAMP HAIKU

     Taking the oath;
     "I promise to serve GOD
     and my country."


     standing on a set
     of yellow painted footprints
     there’s no turning back
 

     These footprints were to indicate where the new draftees and recruits had to stand in line while
     waiting to get our heads shaved.


     our hair is gone
     in a matter of minutes
     we look like pathetic monks


     on a bus to the barracks
     no one is allowed to speak
     a single word


     second week of training
     the damn D.I. nicknames me
     "Scarecrow!"


     D.I. stands for Drill Instructor.


     an exhausting day
     the man beaten up badly
     stifles sobs after taps
 

     Taps refers to the time of rest, after "lights out!" Sometimes a sad bugle is played.


     lights on at 4 a.m.
     the last man out of bed
     gets a boot in the butt


     chow hall
     four minutes
     for breakfast


     A chow hall is a military cafeteria.


     120 men
     take a piss in 42 seconds
     "two seconds too slow ladies!"


     standing at attention
     hour after hour in the heat
     no one moves an inch


     today we were allowed
     to smoke just one cigarette
     everyone is miserable


     daytime
     worse than the worst
     nightmare


     parade grounds
     our heels thundering in unison
     music to the D.I.’s ears
 

     The parade grounds is the place where military marches and inspections are held.


     pugil stick drill:

     Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

     Kill! Kill! Kill!
 

     Pugil sticks are used in training men to fight with a bayonet attached to the front end of a rifle in
     hand-to-hand combat.


     climbing up the rope
     by the time I reach the top
     my penis is hard


     twice today I was called
     a slimy dick cock sucking
     son-of-a-bitch of a bastard!


     standing guard duty
     the D.I. hiding inside
     the dipsty-dumpster


     the D.I. just waiting
     for me to make a mistake
     his sadistic eyes


     "Scarecrow! Stand up
     with your arms straight out
     until I say you can move"


     have an upset stomach,
     complain, get punched in the gut,
     then puke my guts out


     fourth week on the rifle range
     I ain’t gettin’ Maggie’s drawers
     no more


     Maggie’s drawers is the name of the flag that is waved when the marksman completely
     misses the target.


     qualifying with the M-14
     my eye and the bull’s-eye
     become one


     The M-14 is a military rifle. The M-16 was mostly used in Vietnam, but a few soldiers
     preferred the heavier, but more accurate M-14.


     Final Inspection:
     the fly on my nose refuses
     to leave me alone


     Graduation Day:
     for the very first time the D.I.
     calls us Marines


All work is copyright Ty Hadman and should not be reproduced without permission.