Hooligans by William Diehl Page A

that.
    As we walked back to the cars I said, “We can throw in with you on this. I think we can assume the
    weapon was a grenade launcher and that‟s an illegal weapon and that makes it federal.”
    “Gee whiz,” Dutch growled. “Ain‟t due process grand.”
    12
    FLASHBACK: NAM DIARY, ARRIVAL
    The first ten days : First off, I was a replacement. I sat around the Cam Ranh Bay repo-depot for
    about ten days before they sent me down to Third Corps HQ and from there over to Phouc Binh which
    is where I pick up my squad. I‟m only five weeks out of Advanced Infantry School, I don‟t know shit
    and I am plenty scared.
    I can tell you this, flying in to Cam Ranh I, look down and it‟s really gorgeous, I mean this is some
    beautiful place except you have all this beautiful green jungle and then you have mortar holes
    everywhere. It was like, you know, paradise going to hell and gone.
    Anyway, while I‟m in Cam Ranh waiting to get a squad, I hang out with this potato farmer from
    Nebraska they call Spud, because of the potatoes and all. He doesn‟t like it much but he doesn‟t
    complain either. That wasn‟t too bad because we were both, you know, newcomers, so mostly we
    talked about what it‟s like back in the world—the States. Except this Spud, he was really scared. His
    hands shook and everything. Then he gets shipped into Indian country, and after that I meet q with
    this kid from Wisconsin—a short termer with only two months left to go who is off the line a couple
    days to come see his brother who got wounded and is in the hospital. We hook up in this sorry ass
    lean-to they call a bar. First off I tried striking u some talk with a sergeant but he just looks at me with
    these dead eyes, I mean eyes like hunks of coal, no feeling, no nothin‟. He was scary. I says “hi” and
    he looks at me and gets up and leaves, and that‟s when this kid from Wisconsin, who is sitting down
    the way from me, pipes up and says, “He‟s a CRIP, they don‟t socialize much.” And I says, “What‟s a
    CRIP?” And he says, “Jeeze, how long you been over here?” And I says, “Less than a week,” and he
    says, “Shit, you got it all ahead of you,” and just shakes his head but he doesn‟t say anymore about
    CRIP; I learned about that later.
    Anyway he got off the line to see his brother, only it turns out he‟s been there three days and hasn‟t
    been to the hospital yet and when I ask him why he says, “No guts.” Finally after a couple of beers I
    walk him down to the hospital mind I wait outside in the hall and there‟s some guy screaming the
    whole time I‟m waiting. It gives me the crawlers. I wanted to just up and leave but that wasn‟t right so
    I sat there and after a while I put my hands over my ears so I couldn‟t hear it anymore. Then the kid
    from Wisconsin comes out and he‟s crying and he‟s like, you know, hysterical or something, and we
    get outside and sit down near the hospital and this kid, he‟s really torn up. But I don‟t ask him
    anything, I just wait, because already I‟m learning about not asking questions.
    About five minutes after we sit down for a smoke this Huey comes over and settles down almost on
    the ground and they dump out half a dozen body bags, just like that, plop on the ground and whip off
    again. I never saw anybody dead before. I started getting sick and the kid from Wisconsin is sitting
    there staring at the bags and finally I says, “Let‟s get out of here,.” and we go down to this other
    hooch and have a couple more beers.
    The kid gets pretty drunk and finally he starts talkin‟. Real fast, it just comes bustin‟ out. He says,
    “Bobby says to me, „Christ, how am I gonna tell Arlene, [that‟s his girlfriend, Arlene,] how‟m I gonna
    tell her I ain‟t got any balls left,‟ and I‟m sittin‟ there thinking, Jeeze Bobby, you don‟t have any
    fuckin‟ legs left!‟ Ah, shit, it don‟t make no never mind anyways. Arlene married some asshole