"Joe Haldeman - 1968" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

I went with some friends down to a demonstration at the White House last week. Nobody got hurt,
though there were a lot of police, riot police. A band started playing but they confiscated all the amplifier
stuff. So we sang anyhow.

I'm getting to be a real peacenik. I hope you still feel the same way. I don't want you over there, I don't
want anybody over there. Except maybe Lyndon Johnson and his gang.

It was exciting, with all the singing and chanting. Some of the cops, the young ones, looked like they
wanted to be on our side. Some of them looked like they wanted us to drop dead.Everybody looked
cold!

Afterwards we went back to College Park where a church had hot cider and cookies for those of us
who were there. One guy could do great Phil Ochs songs, even the fancy guitar playing. He was SO
cool.

After the church thing shut down we went down to the Starlight, but they were checking IDs. I wonder
how many kids get killed because they can't get served near the University and so they drive into the
District and get loaded, then try to drive home. That must seem pretty remote to you. I wish I could send
you a cold beer.

Better hit the books. Keep your head down and your chin up, as they say.

Love, Beverly

Love letter

10 Jan 68

Dear Beverly,

It's funny how sometimes your letters get here in a couple of days and sometimes it takes a couple of
weeks. We're out in the boonies now, the boondocks, and I didn't think I'd hear from you until we got
back to the fire base. But a helicopter came in with mail and hot food! (Never thought I'd love spaghetti
and meatballs and wilted salad.)

This morning we went out to "hump the boonies" or what the newspapers call a search & destroy
mission. We didn't find or destroy anything, we just walked around as quiet as possible. I had to walk
point for an hour, which was pretty scary until I got used to it. Walking point is when you're in the front of
the line.

We stopped once in the morning when we heard a machinegun. Turned out to be nothing but some
triggerhappy grunts back at the fire base, but we had to put out ambushes and sit around. Us X-Rays
had to find a placeto blow an LZ in case of a fire-fight, so we were out in the jungle by ourselves for a
while. That was not cool. But Moses showed me how to set the charges to blow down the trees but we
didn't do it, we just gathered up all the stuff and went back to humping again.

I met a grunt named Murphy who walked behind me most of the time. Other outfits, people don't have to
call each other by their code names.

About 3:00 we stopped near the top of a hill and dug in. I went out to chop down some trees while