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 IHAD DEVELOPED SUCH a spiritual fondness for the city that I was giving strong consideration to retiring in Hanoi and living somewhere near Hoan Kiem Lake or the old Hang Gai district with its warren of twisting streets and shops. On my long walks on Hai Ba Trung Street or Le Thai To and in talking to my expat friends, I started keeping an eye out for apartments or houses that might be coming available. The whole idea suddenly became problematic, at least for a good while longer, with a brief e-mail congratulation from a friend in the Pentagon. Congratulations for what? I wrote. You made the colonel’s promotion list, he shot back. That was a bolt out of the blue; promotion to full colonel was the last thing on my mind. At least it proved the army had a sense of humor. But it did mean about a year’s wait to pin on and three years of service after that to keep the rank and retirement pay. Christmas 2003 and Tet 2004 were fast approaching, and I was looking forward to a short break. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year, and the entire country shuts down for a week. Just before Christmas I had to go to the Det commanders’ conference in Hawaii, where I would meet my wife, Holly, who would return with me to Hanoi for a few weeks. Our daughter, Dustin, who was going to college in Texas, would fly into Hanoi from San Antonio. I had been to Hawaii many times, but for Holly it was a first trip to the Pacific. I met her at the Honolulu Airport with traditional flower leis, and we drove to stay at the Hale Koa, the military resort on Waikiki Beach. The commanders’ conference was very productive as we focused on finetuning our systems and functions. Brigadier General “Que” Winfield, our Chapter 9 CHRISTMAS AND TET  Chapter 9 new boss, was set on upgrading our logistics, especially the tools we used on digs. Since JPAC and its healthy resources had taken over responsibility for the CIL lab, he agreed to finance the purchase of the highest-quality tools. Nothing was more frustrating to the teams than trying to do digs with cheap tools, especially trowels, shovels, root cutters, and chainsaws. He turned loose Lt. Col. Jay Orner, the JPAC J4, or logistics officer. Soon our warehouses were stuffed with the very best, Marshalltown trowels, Craftsman and Dewalt tools, and Poulan chainsaws. The anthros all applauded this new, directcommand interest in the tools of their trade. In our free time Holly and I did the normal tourist trek. The USS Arizona Memorial was very moving, with its eerie oil bubbles bleeding to the surface, like black teardrops of angels spread in the sunlight, giving off rainbow colors. Probably the highlight was snorkeling with sea turtles in the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. We were on separate flights back to Bangkok and in different terminals for the mandatory long layover at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. The real problem was that Holly got into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport several hours before I did, her first experience at dealing with Asian customs entry, although Thailand is relatively easy and friendly. I decided the simplest plan was to have a room at the Amari, an excellent hotel right in the airport. She also had the phone number of the detachment in Thailand, so I knew if anything went wrong, she could get plenty of help. As it turned out, she breezed right through the entire trip as planned. The next morning we flew together on Vietnam Air into Hanoi, where we were met by a smiling Mr. Thinh. I think the rest of Christmas and New Years is better told through Holly’s eyes, new to Asia, in her notes back home to the family: The flight was tough, sitting on planes for hours and hours, but we are finally here in Hanoi, which is fascinating. We only just arrived Monday afternoon, and my impression so far of the city is a combination of Mexico and East Berlin poverty, French colonial elegance, big-city traffic and crowds. Coming from the airport I saw water buffalo, peasants in traditional dress, men and women in business suits, fashionable clothing, and beautiful new homes next to hovels. I think shopping is going to be great—just think, East Berlin prices but more choices of good quality. It...

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