Calls Across the Pacific by Zoë S. Roy Page B

the North Vietnamese soldiers and humiliated the U.S. Army. Nina had acted as a member of a group of Vietnamese women and children making sharp bamboo sticks for punji traps.
    Nina trembled from her memory of singing and performing as a Vietnamese fighter. The image of the bloody figure stuck with sharp bamboo sticks made her feel as if she were the killer of Ajax’s friend, Lenard. She shook her head incredulously as she thought about the naiveté of her adolescent years. She looked up at the podium and thought Ajax must be about twenty-four years old, her age. She shivered to think that in 1969, only four years ago, Ajax had been thrust into the cruelty of the Vietnam War. That was the same year Dahai left for Vietnam, if he ever made it there. The thought startled her. Her fingers pushed through her loose shoulder-length hair, and her hands pressed on her forehead. The student next to her asked with concern, “Are you all right?”
    â€œI’m okay. Thanks.” Nina’s tension loosened, but a pang of guilt surged through her when she imagined Lenard’s bloodied body ripped open by the punji stake.
    Ajax’s voice brought Nina back to the present. “Before the war, I longed to be a patriot. After surviving the war, I changed. I often ask this question to myself: Should America have entered the Vietnam War?” He paused, eyeing the attentive audience. “And my answer is yes. As in WWI , we used the war to try and stop the war. We wanted to stop the Viet Cong from killing more innocent people. I think we made a difference.”
    â€œI disagree!” a student shouted from the audience, her hand up in the air. “If America hadn’t gone to the war, thousands of young men like your friend, Lenard, would still be alive. Their families would not have suffered.”
    More listeners participated in the heated discussion that followed. The war in Vietnam was still raging and the debate questioned whether the Americans had actually done any good. Nina listened intently and finally understood what freedom of opinion and expression meant.
    After the presentation, she walked over to Ajax and thanked him for his story. “It reveals so much of what we don’t know about the Vietnam War.”
    Ajax looked at her and asked without hesitation, “Are you from Vietnam?”
    â€œNo, I’m from China,” Nina answered. “I learned about the war as a schoolgirl. I was told the Americans invaded Vietnam.”
    â€œDo you still think so?” Ajax asked.
    â€œNo. I’ve heard different stories from the other side now. In addition, I truly dislike communists from any countries. I think America’s participation in the Vietnam War has helped raise awareness of the imperative to put an end to dictatorship and communism.”
    â€œInteresting,” Ajax said, grinning, the tension in his face dissolving. Then he added, “My friends who died or were injured in Vietnam would be more than happy to hear that.”
    Another student then approached Ajax, so Nina bid him farewell, feeling much better after having talked to him, even briefly.
    Nina took a course of East Asian Politics, and when it was her turn to make a presentation, she talked about her father’s death during the Cultural Revolution and her attitude toward communist rule in China. In addition, she talked about her understanding of American policies in the Far East. Many listeners asked questions such as:“Why did your father choose to study at the West Point?”, “What is the functional difference between the Nationalist Army and the People’s Liberation Army?”, “Do you think Nixon’s visit to Beijing introduced capitalism to Communist China?” Nina responded as best she could, even though she felt she did not have clear answers to some of those questions.
    The enthusiasm and thoughtfulness of Nina’s fellow students touched her very much. But what truly