THE SAND PUPPIES & THE VIETNAM WAR

Our guide to the Cambodian encampment would not become available until evening. It stalled us for more than five hours at the holdover in Nha Trang. 

We hopped on a ride to the beach area. Nha Trang was a favorite R&R spot for in-country personnel. 

We picked up a couple of beers, two pizzas, and a few bags of chips at the local canteen and headed out for some sun and sand. 

As we lounged around, two young dogs frolicked in the sand. It was the way they fake bit, puppy growled and rolled over one another that kept our amused attention. 

One of the guys went to pick one up when a vigilant MP called out. “Hey!” he yelled from the entrance guard post. “Don’t touch them; they carry flesh-eating diseases!” 

The thought came if two puppies playing in the sand could not bring comfort, then nothing would. It only confirmed my suspicion everything and everyone was out to kill us, even two puppies. And you know, I was right. 

But it reminds me not everything we encountered brought anxiety, terror, and horror in that terrible place. It's just another piece of Vietnam that stuck with me. 

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