A Wartime Diary
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Dang Thuy Tram
National Public Radio had a piece on All Things Considered on November 15th which moved me to remember some of the Vietnamese I knew during the Vietnam War, and afterwards. Dang Thuy Tram was a brand new doctor in a North Vietnamese MASH, and she kept a diary. Here is an excerpt from Kichael Sullivan's report:
"April 30, 1968: Sadness soaks into my heart like days of rain soak into the earth. I want to find some mindless happiness, but I cannot. My mind has wrinkles already because of worry. Is there no way to erase them? Oh, why was I born a girl so rich with dreams, and with love, asking so much from life?
"Tram's diary is filled with passages like that one -- along with stories of amputating limbs and trying to avoid American planes and foot patrols which often forced her and her colleagues to move their field clinic, sometimes carrying the wounded on their backs. The diary presents the story of a young woman filled with love and yearning and self doubt. And a deep animosity toward the American invaders.
"July 25, 1968: Oh, my God. How hateful the war is. And the more hate, the more the devils are eager to fight. Why do they enjoy shooting and killing good people like us? How can they have the heart to kill all those youngsters who love life, who are struggling and living for so many hopes? "
Please go here to read the whole article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6492819&ft=1&f=1004
Dang Thuy Tram
National Public Radio had a piece on All Things Considered on November 15th which moved me to remember some of the Vietnamese I knew during the Vietnam War, and afterwards. Dang Thuy Tram was a brand new doctor in a North Vietnamese MASH, and she kept a diary. Here is an excerpt from Kichael Sullivan's report:
"April 30, 1968: Sadness soaks into my heart like days of rain soak into the earth. I want to find some mindless happiness, but I cannot. My mind has wrinkles already because of worry. Is there no way to erase them? Oh, why was I born a girl so rich with dreams, and with love, asking so much from life?
"Tram's diary is filled with passages like that one -- along with stories of amputating limbs and trying to avoid American planes and foot patrols which often forced her and her colleagues to move their field clinic, sometimes carrying the wounded on their backs. The diary presents the story of a young woman filled with love and yearning and self doubt. And a deep animosity toward the American invaders.
"July 25, 1968: Oh, my God. How hateful the war is. And the more hate, the more the devils are eager to fight. Why do they enjoy shooting and killing good people like us? How can they have the heart to kill all those youngsters who love life, who are struggling and living for so many hopes? "
Please go here to read the whole article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6492819&ft=1&f=1004
posted by Greg Finnegan @ 3:24 PM
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