"The World"...that's how those of us who served in Vietnam, referred to the States and/or home.
I have no idea where the expression came from; but it's a good indication of what we thought of that stretch of south east Asian real estate known as Vietnam.
"BACK IN THE WORLD" came about as a result of two things: my making contact via fb, with two guys I went to high school with (we'll call them Bob and Jack) two years before the thought of even telling the story came to mind.
AND...my wife, Kristina.
In the two years leading up to Bob, Jack, and myself, and our wives (they had never met), reuniting face to face, the three of us discovered that we had been in the Marines and served in Vietnam. Bob had been a grunt platoon commander, Jack had been an artillery officer and an F.O. aka, Forward Observer; and I had been what is now called a "combat terp", i.e. an interpreter/translator, aka, a grunt who could speak Vietnamese.
Our wives knew our what are M.O.S.'s (Military Occupational Specialty) had been, but nothing else. As with most combat vets of any war, we never talked about it - especially with our wives in the room.
While in Las Vegas, NV, producing/directing a show I had written, I invited Bob, Jack, and their wives, to come and see the show...they did. In fact, they refused my comp tickets and paid for both nights of the show's run.
Side bar: SRO and standing ovations both nights!
Since November 10, 2018 was, for lack of a better term, the show's closing night. And the 10th was also the Marine Corps Birthday (10 November, 1775 - take notes, there will be a test - lol!). Bob, Jack, and I thought we three couples should get together and celebrate
We met at a grill/sports bar. The conversation started with introducing our wives to each other. Then there was some brief high school reminiscing, then talk of the Marine Corps AND THEN..., for the first time, with our wives in the room, we talked about the war...it just happened.
No blood and guts stuff (what I call war porn). Just open, no holds barred, chewin-the-fat conversation about why each of us chose the Marine Corps, experiencing boot camp and OCS (Bob and Jack were both officers, but Bob had come up through the ranks). We talked about our first day in Vietnam, every day life in the grunts (the good, bad, and the ugly), how we felt about the war while we were there. What it was like coming home and how we feel about the Marine Corps and the war now.
God bless our wives!
The listened, comforted, smiled, and even laughed with us as we talked about the war.
BUT... one of the more interesting things that happened was when one of the wives (we'll call her, Sue, aka, "the last first wife standing" - come and see the show and you'll understand the reference); for the first time in she and Bob's 52 years of marriage, opened up about the war at home - what it was like for her while Bob was in Vietnam...and what it was like when he came home badly wounded.
The conversation would have continued all night long; had our server not told us the place was closing, and thanked us for our patronage.
The next day, on our way back to our home in Arizona, Kristina and I talked about the evening. As we talked I became more reflective and quiet. That's when Kristina said. "I think you've found your next show."
I had mixed feelings at first. She was right. Done the right way, it could be a great show, especially using just the right music to counter the harder moments of the story.
It's one thing to sit in a sports bar with guys you have shared the same crap with and talk about it. It's another to put it up on stage for all to see and hear.
When I called them to say what I wanted to do and what did they think?
There was no hesitation with their answer - Yes.
We had all healed. We could look back and laugh. We were all, ok.
After I hung up from talking to them, though there was still a little apprehensive, I thought, "What the hell. Maybe it's time."
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