|
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by Lynne M Black Jr Soft Cover
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by Lynne M Black Jr
Soft Cover
338 pages
Copyright 2011
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologueviii
1 The Briefing1
2 Debriefing14
3 Sean Flynn 62
4 Liars, Guns & Likker103
5 Dressing Down119
6 Watching128
7 Sleepy139
8 Snuffn Snatch171
9 Apricots In the Air & Smokey Bear207
10 Ice Cream Social219
11 Rocky Reach229
12 Eldest Son244
13 Coca-Coca259
14 Weather Enemy Terrain (WET)267
15 Chestnuts Roasting Over An Open Fire 286
16 Driving The Dragons Back321
Glossary327
PROLOGUE
Ho Chi Minh worked for American intelligence in Indochina from 1943 through 1945. Specifically, the Office of Strategic Services, predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency, trained and armed Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh guerrillas in the jungles of northern Vietnam to fight the Japanese. Ho went to work organizing a broad front of patriots of all ages and types, peasants, workers, merchants and soldiers, to drive both the Japanese and French out of Vietnam.
In the category of common things that go unnoticed in the world; while Ho Chi Minh was working for the OSS saving allied lives, Lynne Maurice Black Junior was born to Lynne Senior and Violet Black of Albany, Oregon; Lynne Jr., that's me. This is where I come into the picture. I was immediately given the name Bosco when my mother found that by mixing a bit of the chocolate drink into my baby milk I dozed right off.
In Berlin, Germany on the date and hour of my birth, at 10:00 a.m. on April 22, Adolph Hitler declared to his General Staff that Germany had lost the war, and that he would commit suicide. My father always said I should have been born sooner. Of course these are all just coincidences in time; Hitler committing suicide as, the Russian Army advanced to his doorstep; Ho Chi Minh struggling for power; my struggle for life to be part of the American dream in a world forever at peace.
In August of 1945, Ho Chi Minh convinced Bao Dai, the last Emperor of Vietnam, to abdicate his throne. Ho became Chairman of a Provisional Government and issued a Proclamation of Independence for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam that had borrowed much from the French and American Declarations of Independence. He was frustrated with the international community in that they refused to recognize his newly formed democratic government. Ho repeatedly petitioned American President Harry Truman for support of Vietnamese independence, but Truman never responded as part of an agreement with the British who then exercised post-war control over Indochina.
Soon after the war violence between rival Vietnamese factions and French colonial forces escalated to the point where the British commander, General Sir Douglas Gracey, declared martial law. On September 24, 1945, the Viet Minh leaders responded with a call for a general strike. There they were the Vietnamese with a Declaration of Independence, Ho Chi Minh as President answering to the British who were in the process of turning Vietnam back to the French. The Vietnamese struggle for independent nation status was again slipping away.
That same month, a force of 200,000 Chinese Nationalists arrived in Hanoi. H6 Chi Minh made a calculated political arrangement with their general, Lu Han, to dissolve the Communist Party and to hold an election which would yield a coalition government. When Chiang Kai-Shek later traded Chinese influence in Vietnam for French concessions in Shanghai, Ho Chi Mirth felt betrayed and went to work on a plan to drive Chiang's army from North Vietnam.
Ho made the decision to sign an agreement with France on 6 March 1946, in which Vietnam would be recognized as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union. Fighting broke out with the French soon after the Chinese left, and the struggle continued.
Ho Chi Minh was heard to say, "The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff French shit for five years than to eat Chinese shit for the rest of my life."
In 1946, my mother was pregnant with my brother Hugh. We lived in Salem, Oregon where my father worked for the post war State Employment Office. The war machine was winding down and unemployment was high. I was one year old.
April 1947, on my second birthday, we moved to the corner of 123 Bomb & 456 Detonator, Ordnance, Oregon, which was a munitions depot town for WWII war supplies. Our father managed the payroll office for the depot. One hot summer day that year the freckly-faced, red-headed, girl next door and I took off our clothes and crawled into the icebox on the back porch; the lid closed and locked. We could hear her mother frantically calling and searching for her all day. The two of us knew we were in trouble as we huddled in the icebox. Later that evening my father encouraged me to stay away from redheads as he paddled my behind. I'm sure her mother was doing the same two years old and playing with redheads.
In 1950, I was five when the Korean War broke out. We had moved down the road to Hermiston, Oregon, and our father had taken a job with Guy F. Atkinson Construction Company as the head of their Payroll Office for the construction of the Umatilla Hydroelectric Dam. Our mother had purchased a small road house diner between the towns of Umatilla and Hermiston and named it the Blue Bird Caf. After that, my brothers Hugh, Bruce, and I were on our own. I was the "Little Man", Bosco the babysitter.
In that same year the Soviet Union recognized Ho Chi Minh's government Even though Vietnam was recognized internationally as part of French Indochina. Joseph Stalin convinced Ho that the Soviet Union would bankroll his fight against the French if he agreed to allow Chinese advisors to train 60 to 70,000 Viet Minh. Ho bit his lip and agreed to China's support, which enabled him to escalate his fight against France.
In 1953 the Korean War ended. I was eight years old, in the third grade, and in love with the redheaded freckle faced girl next door; yes, another redhead. The tumbleweed filled fields were a great place for all of us to play from sunrise to sunset. Always with me were my two younger brothers, Hugh and Bruce. Dubbed "Little Man", I was responsible for the safety and welfare of my brothers while our parents worked.
One of our neighbors, who worked at Ordnance, gave us a parachute to hang from a tree and create a camp. The adults thought it would keep us busy, out of trouble, and they would always know where to find the neighborhood kids. That fall the desert winds began to blow and our parachute camp came down. I drug our big snow sled out of the garage and attached the parachute riser cords to the front of it. Bruce, the youngest, sat in front, Hugh in the middle, and I straddled the rear and would be the foot brakes. A couple of the neighborhood kids held the chute up to catch the wind and off we went. Building speed to match the 20 to 30 mile per hour winds we slid across the stubble corn and wheat fields, through the tumbleweed hedgerows that lined the irrigation ditches, out into the desert. What a ride! Late that afternoon we were spotted by a local Indian driving an old rattling Ford pickup truck. He delivered us into the arms of our stern-faced parents. Being responsible for the safety and welfare of my brothers, it was imprinted again on my behind.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
US Shipments: When you add multiple items to your cart, the reduced shipping charges will automatically be calculated. For direct postage rates to other countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us before making a return. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding or buying.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
