https://haikumania0.tripod.com/haikumania/index.html
War Crimes -
Dong Ha HaikuAs 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
this one last kiss
(Travis Air Force Base, CA
dusk’s darkness deepens
along
the lines the whispering
of tonight’s password
I’ve got the jitters . . ....
no enemy seen
but I get a good look
at myself
the first letter
in the rear truck
of a long convoy
the dusty road
sugarcane fields
concertina wire
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
rust colored water
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.
survivors in small boats
minute by minute
filling sand bags in the hot sun
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
men
it’s quite impossible
Many of the mosquitoes carried malaria and other nasty tropical diseases.
crickets stop chirping
that fat rat just stares
inside the bunker
my bayonet gleams
War is HELL!
(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
village off limits
Tet:
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 . . .
rain soaked and cold
sitting in a hole
waiting in ambush . . .
returning to camp
suffering from battle fatigue,
dead bodies arrive
Little kids yelling,
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.
(February 9, 1969)
dawn
waiting for a flight out
Written on my last day in Vietnam while waiting on the airstrip.
the crying boy
I’m now back in the United States again.
Memorial Day service —
shaking his cup
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
War Crimes
- Marine Boot Camp HaikuContinuing 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!
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.
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.