The Shadow of Arms by Hwang Sok-Yong Page B

I told him “Good job!” and reported it on up to company level.
    Ericsson: I felt like I was going crazy, knowing that as long as I kept my mouth shut, the murder of that thin Vietnamese girl with the large dark eyes would be buried forever. I knew that, if I did not bring the murder into the light of day, I could never live in peace after being discharged and going home. I realized it was the very least I could do for that girl I’d betrayed. The only thing that could prevent me from carrying out my resolution would be if I became a casualty at the hands of my own unit. In fact, Misova and Clark fired at me twice when we were out on reconnaissance.
    Interrogator: Did you report it to your superior?
    Ericsson: I gave statements to the platoon leader and the company commander.
    Interrogator: Lieutenant Riley, what is the reason for concealing this crime for over three months?
    Riley: It wasn’t a case of concealment. One thing all of us field commanders know well is that the nature of the civilian relations that US forces engage in in Asia are not at all like they are in Europe. Mishaps of this kind happen every day in Vietnam.
    Interrogator: I am aware that there is a cultural difference. The question, however, is why you did not report it earlier?
    Riley: Three years ago I lived in a black area. My wife went to the hospital in a white neighborhood in Alabama to give birth to our first baby. She was in a lot of pain. But the hospital, under a policy of severe racial discrimination, refused to admit my wife. She ended up having her baby in the waiting room. I tried to destroy that hospital, but they called the police and I ended up behind bars. Sitting in that cell I made up my mind that the moment I was out I’d shoot every single member of the staff of that hospital. I gave up the idea when I was got out. It was for the same reason that I did not report this case.
    Interrogator: This is a case that could turn into an international problem. In any event, once the case is publicized the dignity of the US forces, which have been participating in wars around the world to safeguard freedom and justice, will be greatly stained. Consider transferring or sending Ericsson home as soon as possible.
    As word of the case might become public, recover the body of the victim immediately to prevent it from being exploited by the enemy for propaganda purposes. If it does become public, make sure that the severity of military discipline is also public knowledge, to demonstrate the far-sighted civilian relations policy of American forces. Let it be known that the American forces respect human life and treat crimes against civilians in the course of combat operations as civilian homicide. Dispatch to Hill 192 an investigation team of CID staff, a photographer, a doctor, a ballistics expert, and a military court advisor. As for Private Ericsson, acknowledge that he has fully completed his duty like a model soldier and have him cited, decorated, and recommended for promotion.
    [Corpse found on Hill 192. All parts of decomposing remains collected, body-bagged, and evacuated. Eleven fragments of bullets discovered in vicinity of crime. Found teeth, finger bones, and other bone fragments in grass. Lethal wounds confirmed, as a result of autopsy, to include three punctures with knife in ribs and neck. Cause of partial loss of cranial bones confirmed to be impact of two high-velocity projectiles. Subject of autopsy was female Mongolian aged eighteen to twenty. A silver earring found at the scene of the crime was identified by relatives as belonging to victim Pan Te Miao.]

 
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    6
    Yong Kyu was sitting at the bar in front of the marine PX. It was in a huge open structure, a roof on top of columns. The bar overlooked heaps of scrap metal: rusting tanks, crushed Jeeps, the carcass of a plane fuselage, spent artillery shells, etcetera. Like huge bones of dinosaurs extinct for centuries.
    Yong Kyu went into the PX to meet the