Vietnam Archives - James Strauss

THE TWENTY-NINTH NIGHT, SECOND PART, 30 Days Has September

There existed no corridor through the jungle, like the one that cut through the undergrowth located on the other side of the river. There, the night before, it had been easy to move back and forth through that protected passage to communicate, supply, reinforce,...

Coronavirus (COVID19), Reflection #38

by James Strauss | 18 comments

Journaling the Coronavirus (COVID19) Pandemic, Reflection #38 April 20, 2020 When I was in Vietnam, fighting down in the A Shau Valley, the North Vietnamese Army installed drums along the top edges of the cliff complex up above both sides of the valley, which was less...

I Did The Thing… Vietnam

by James Strauss | 1 comment

I did the thing in a country called Vietnam. I went on from there to have a fairly wild and messy but distinguished career in the CIA. How come, after all that, and publishing my story in books and more, I am expected on such social communication sites like this, to...

THE TWENTY-SEVENTH NIGHT, THIRD PART, 30 Days Has September

by James Strauss | 197 comments

My eyes snapped open, and I took in a quick deep breath. The sound that had awakened me was that of a fifty-caliber machine gun firing at close range. The crack of it, with following cracks and echoes, assured that I was downrange from the muzzle blasts and the...

TWENTY-SEVENTH NIGHT, SECOND PART, 30 Days Has September

by James Strauss | 94 comments

The M-60s had opened up from in front of me, but I could not estimate the distance or the true direction the machine guns might be firing from, what with the sound of the nearby rushing river water and the incessant beat of the rain down upon my helmet. I knew all the...