Christmas in Da Nang: A veteran reflects on Vietnam

I like Christmas, but Christmas 1968 was not very Christmassy. I was 21 years old, and in my ninth month of a 12-month-and-20-day Marine Corps tour in Vietnam. Only two memories stick with me from that December. First, a 24-hour Christmas truce was scheduled with the North Vietnamese. I was not a grunt in Vietnam, but my job required me to hitch rides on helicopters between First Marine Division headquarters north of Da Nang and a much smaller base called An Hoa. The helipad was near the Recon Marines’ bunker. Recon Marines were tough, well trained and lethal. Not long after the date of the upcoming Christmas truce was announced, I went to the recon bunker to hitch a ride. There was a new sign posted: only 17 more killing days until Christmas. My second memory: that December, we had a celebrity. Surprisingly, I had seen a few other celebrities during my time in Vietnam. During the presidential campaign season, George Wallace sent his running mate, Gen.

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