Haiku My Heart
August 2, 2013
Young boys frolicking
Personal Photos and Video (Click on this to view video)
To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever posted this YouTube video before. I’ve had it for a while, just can’t remember if you’ve seen it. If so, I apologize. The Haiku is new, I wrote it this morning. If not, it is unique in that these are my personal photos from 1969 in the Republic of Vietnam.
This YouTube video was made from snapshots. Most of them taken in the Republic of Vietnam in 1969 when I served in the US Army’s 25th Infantry Division. A few of them were taken a short time after I returned home.
Disclaimer:
None of these depict the ravages of war from a standpoint of the death and destruction or combat operations. Read that to mean there are no dead bodies or photos of people shooting guns.
What is evident by some of these photos are the grim facial expressions on some and the terrain in the background as well as the armament by way of vehicles and weapons. Also, there are many with smiles on our faces. War was not a 24/7 affair. We were not locked into mortal combat every minute of every day. In fact, most of these photos were taken when we had a chance to relax and we did indeed have smiles on our faces. We didn’t have time to grab a camera when we were involved in combat operations.
The soundtrack is unique in the fact that it was recorded on a small battery powered boxy cassette recorder that was simply activated as we were in a bunker in a base camp near the city of Tay Ninh. I’m sure there was pot and alcohol involved. Down time like this was a time to let loose. The day the music was recorded was the day before one of the guys was leaving to go home. A going away party for a fellow soldier.
It is a little over nine minutes long. Having these memories as a YouTube video doesn’t allow the viewer to dwell on any one photo for long unless you have the stop gap capability on the equipment you are using to view the video. Of course I have the original cassette tape and the actual photos. I also have more tapes of other times during my stay in Vietnam, and a 10 minute piece of video taken during my last days in country. I offer to share this part of my life on my Round Circle blog.
Enjoy the film, enjoy the music, enjoy...
Peace
More Haiku My Heart can be seen at Rebecca's blog, recuerda mi corazon
20 comments:
Shadows of Nui Ba Den
Must be very nostalgic to be preserving memories from the past..
Thanks for sharing..
My haiku..
http://rameshsood.blogspot.in/2013/08/rains-catch-her.html
RS:)
These must be bitter/sweet memories of a young Joe, thank you for allowing us to go back in time to get a glimpse of your world as it was, music and friendship telling your story...
My daughter-in-law's friend lives in Vietnam, she sent a traditional child's outfit for my granddaughter, Connie, she looks so cute in it...
Love Ms Foxy
very young men
doing the best they could
to find joy in life.
Heart-breaking.
♥♥
recently my mother created a book of all my father's handwritten letters written home to us from his tour of duty in vietnam. almost a letter for every day he was away.
i have not been able to get through them yet, they are so charged with emotion for me as i miss him so. when i read them he comes to life in a new way and seems to be right beside me as i linger over his thoughtfully penned words. he was a corpsman, his days were filled with meeting the seemingly endless arrival of helicopters with the wounded and fighting the good fight to save their lives.
you also have a profound way of evoking deep memories of my father, and i thank you for that.
Heartfelt memories
So young! Lovely haiku of your memories and video was excellent ~ Wow!
ps. had photos my deceased husband took in Vietnam but didn't keep them now I wish I had ~ He was with the Signal BN 101st Airborne ~ made it home only to get killed scuba diving. C'est la vie.
Memories for you coming alive and I could feel it. You did not loose your humor even in a war torn country. I watched your video and parts of the others too. Your life and travels neatly packed for posterity!!
Peace always!!
To find joy in a horrendous situation is a gift that you gave to each other.
dearest Joe...I posted a haiku and a video today of the rattle you sent me. It was wonderful having the opportunity to share something from the heart with you. With LOVE
to you and yours my friend.
It is so amazing and heartbreaking at the same time what a profound effect that War had on you. It is, as tho', it shaped almost the entirety of who you are now while you were still such a young man.
Thank you for sharing what must be a difficult video to watch over and again.
And Spado? You should hold more puppies. :)
For some reason, "a long time ago" has a hard time leaving us...
Nesting Place
Nam..an awful war. My ex boyfriend (long before I got married) was there as an Army Ranger, a Scout, and he would NEVER talk about it. Not a word. It's good that you and your buddies found a little time to relax. You sure did not get a very good homecoming. Was that you singing? Could have sworn it was Mick and the Boys. ;)
I remember talking to my 3rd graders about the war. I hated how torn our country was about that war.
may all your days be blessed!
Each time I see this video I am moved for many reasons. One is having a glimpse into a part of your life that shaped you so deeply and gives us the Spadoman of today...
I am glad that you too felt the shift of the seasons with me... I find it to be a wonderful thing to be able to feel these messages, and flow with them rather than resist...
Tomorrow marks exactly one year since we had the four direction discussion and I began the four day meditation with my labyrinth and radically changed my eating and the way I live. Tomorrow I will head North along the Pxacific coast for a new adventure and another new beginning.
Thank you for all the ways you touch our lives. Peace & love to you and your family.
Yes it was a long time ago but that time has never left our hearts! And the boys were, oh, so young! Thank you for sharing this video and the photos.
Oh memories! Thanks for glimpse. I appreciate what I'm seeing and hopefully learning something from a part of your life you are sharing.
Hazel
Sorry it took me so long to get here.... I think i'll send an e-mail....
It's a beautiful video for which I thank both you for preserving the time and Mrs. Spado for her fine directorial skills. I still wish there were no more wars to take or ruin the lives of people whose only desire is to get on in this world.
ps: Did anyone take the dog home?
So so powerful...
I recall the songs, the photos and the emotions that were stirred....they revisited me today. While the tale is yours,the emotions belong to the gal who watched two brothers leave on a train....and waited for what felt like an eternity.
I don't visit those memories memories often. They still pack a punch.
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