VN123 ‘Old Vietnamese Woman’

One thing many American GI’s noted as they patrolled the countryside and went through villages was how often they seemed to be populated only by young children and old people.

Among the many reasons for this were the facts that the young men had frequently been drafted into the ARVN forces (Army of the Republic of Viet Nam) or had fled and been forced into the Viet Cong. Some young women had also been recruited into the Viet Cong or had moved to the larger towns and cities seeking work.

That meant many of the remaining children being left behind in the care of elderly grandparents or other relatives.

K&C’s ‘Old Vietnamese Woman’ leans on her stick and contemplates the world around her. Over the decades she has seen the French Colonizers... the Japanese Occupiers... and now, these big, bold Americans. Most of them have come and gone. Will these Americans come and go too...? Who knows, all she wants is for the war to stop...and peace to return.