How did a guy like me wind up in what was then known as Saigon, Vietnam, in 1966?<\/p>\n
Looking out my dirty hotel window one evening I still wasn\u2019t sure. There was a war being fought in the jungles north of us. But that wasn\u2019t what brought me here. I was here for the paycheck. I was hired by an American firm contracted by the U.S. Navy for construction work. My skills as an engineer were in demand.<\/p>\n
Right away I knew I did not like Saigon. It was hot, dirty and confusing. We engineers lived in a fleabag hotel called the Mondial. Mainly, I kept to myself and stayed inside the hotel. The more experienced guys warned us not to wander off alone, especially after dark. There were horror stories of American businessmen or contractors like ourselves disappearing down alleyways and never being heard from again. The streets certainly didn\u2019t look welcoming with their unfamiliar shops, signs I couldn\u2019t read and soldiers walking around with guns.<\/p>\n
I miss America<\/em>, I thought as I gazed down onto the busy street below. Nothing\u2014not the job nor the money\u2014seemed worth this kind of loneliness. I missed my family and friends back in the States. I felt miles away from everything friendly or familiar. But still, I had to eat. I tied my shoelaces and double-locked the hotel door behind me. It was time for my daily trek out into the streets of Saigon for dinner.<\/p>\n Once I\u2019d had a decent meal I walked back to the hotel. I strolled slower than I usually did, taking in some of the knickknacks being sold at the various carts around the plaza by the hotel.<\/p>\n These folks aren\u2019t so different from me<\/em>, I thought. I should try to enjoy the adventure.<\/em> It was good to be out and about. At least, surrounded by people, I felt a little less alone.<\/p>\n Then I realized the sky had gotten dark. Sundown. How many times was I warned to get back to the hotel before dark? I walked more quickly toward the Mondial. Lord<\/em>, I prayed, if your angels exist, I\u2019d love to have one of them protect me now.<\/em><\/p>\n A cycle-powered pedicab blew past me and I yelled after him, hoping for a faster trip home. He slowed to a stop. \u201cHello,\u201d I said. \u201cHotel Mondial.\u201d The cabbie nodded and started peddling off. Something didn\u2019t seem right though. He was taking a strange route back to the hotel. The cabbie spun the pedicab into a very dark and deserted alleyway. There was another man in the alleyway already. He nodded in recognition at the pedicab driver. My worst fears about Saigon were coming true. I was trapped!<\/p>\n I leapt out of the pedicab but the men cornered me up against a brick wall in the alley. I was alone, in the dark. My two would-be assailants blocked the only exit.<\/p>\n