Maxie, zero ...
Mamasan ... one
by: Don Poss
Copyright © 1996
Da Nang, 1965 - In July 1965 , when I arrived
at Da Nang Air Base on Day One,
the U.S. dollar was still King in-country. Piasters were officially exchanged
at the BX for about 112-P to the dollar. But the black-market would exchange
300-P to the dollar. Military Script (MPC) was not introduced until about
September 1965.
The
35th Air Police Squadron, 366th SPS K-9, lived in a tent compound soon
to be known as Gunfighters. Eight-men tents housed a thousand combat
security police. Spit-shinning boots was a state-side task. At Da Nang,
mamasans buff-polished the toes and heels of our jungle boots and civilian
shoes. The going weekly rate was one dollar U.S., or 250-P. The market
was obviously slanted toward obtaining hard- currency.
Airman Maxie Pearce was a good-natured southern boy and liked to tease
our tent's mamasan. Mamasan and her daughter, Babysan, were a tag-team
shoe shine business that could do a thousand pairs of boots in a heartbeat.
"Hey mamasan ... heard your boy's in the army now ...
which side he on? Ha-ha-ha." Maxie would bust out laughing
and really yuking it up at mamasan's expense. Well mamasan was getting
fedup---in fact she was getting pissed, with the implication that
her son was a commie-pinko---and she was chattering at Babysan to hurry
up and finish the other side of the tent as she finished polishing Maxie's
row of boots and shoes.
She
wanted to get away from Maxie's loud teasing. "Hey mamasan
... your boy still up North or did Uncle Ho send him South already?
Ha-haaaa-ha-yuk." Mamasan's brush was a blur as she buffed another
shoe, but finally she finished, and stomped out of the tent.
Well Maxie was getting ready to go downtown
or to the base movie and was finishing getting dressed in civies. He put
on a pair of civilian shoes, took about two steps and did a noisy head-over-heels
tailspin, AHHhhhhhhhh---CRASH, and lay sprawled on his back. Mamasan
could be heard in the neighboring tent, "Ha-haaaaa-ha-yuk"
... she had polished the bottoms of his shoes.
Me No VC ... you Numba 10-thou G.I. (spit-spit)