1G SEE AND GO BLIND
My time with the 25th Division Forward included a weekly trip to B-32 Special Forces Camp in Tây Ninh East. I usually went there with one of the intelligence officers to drop off documents concerning our troop movements in Tay Ninh Province. Our trips lasted about ninety minutes and half that time we spent in their team house sucking down cold beers.
On one occasion they had a small USO show in the club, so we decided to stay and watch it. There were about twenty-five Special Forces men in the audience, with half of them in Tiger uniforms.
Out of nowhere, two showgirls dressed in Big Bird costumes appeared and began dancing around the room while singing popular songs from back home. This went on for two more songs until they both spotted me in the audience. I saw them eyeing me and I sank lower into my seat, realizing what was about to happen. Before I knew it, they were stripping me on the makeshift stage while dancing to the “Stripper” song. I was almost twenty-five years old, but my “baby face” and my obvious embarrassment were making my audience laugh hysterically, especially when they got me down to my shorts! It was all done in fun, and for a few minutes, we all forgot the war and the killing that went with it.