James Fortune ~Vietnam
May 6, 69 (Tue)
Dear Chris,
Not doing much today. So I thought I would drop you a line. I am sitting on a hill, watching a couple of old men work in their rice fields. It is a real nice day. A nice breeze, not too cold, not to hot. There isn't a cloud in the sky. I have a can of beer beside me and I am all alone. I wish that you or anybody from back home were here to share this wonderful afternoon with me.
What are you doing with your life? Just think school will be over for the summer. What are you going to do this summer? Are you going to just take it easy and have fun? Now, myself that is what I would do or are you going to work? I guess the army will probably have me working all summer. I had planning on coming home in August, but I won't be able to until September, oh well.
What's another month anyway! I do hope that you and me can get together and go out and have some fun. It's been such a long time since I have had really a good time.
I got kind of a rotten letter Terrie yesterday. I guess that she is going to get married to some dude named Mike. I felt a little bad about it of course. But as they say in Korean , Me on hun, that means that's the way the ball bounces. I guess they are going to get married in July. She said some kind of bull, that she loved me, but she had to marry him cause she didn't have any other choice. I guess the dude must have gotten her pregnant. Oh well I am glad it was him and not me that got stuck with her. I just hope that I never see her again cause if I do it will bring back too many bad memories that I don't even want to remember.
Have you written to Ed and told him the way you feel? Well Chris I guess I will close for now. Not much more news from Korea. Write soon and be good.
Your Friend,
Jim
P.S. I wonder if you could send me a picture of you. I would really like it.
Image courtesy of Bettmann/CORBIS
May 10-20, 1969 ~ The Battle of Hamburger Hill was fought by the U.S. & S. Vietnamese against N. Vietnamese troops at heavily fortified Hill 937. The hill had no strategic value and the U.S. abandoned it, resulting in outrages in the military and the public.