Blue Villa & Other Vietnam Stories
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( An excerpt describing a trip in the Delta seeking a witness for a murder case). Our trail led around a large pond, and we followed vehicle ruts going in one direction. Out of the gloom came a patrol on foot going round the pond the other way. They were Vietnamese, in black pajamas, with bandoliers of ammunition slung over their shoulders. They were VC on patrol. We were four, three armed. They were more than six, perhaps nine. They looked at us. We looked at them. To myself I said "holy shit". The others in my jeep no doubt said the same. What went on in the minds of the VC we never learned. But they never raised their weapons or made any threatening movements. Nor did we. After what seemed to be an hour but was probably minutes, we exited the glade, gunned our jeep and drove to the highway as quickly as we could. We never learned why our enemy didn't fire at us, but my sergeant and I threw back a couple of drinks when we got back to Saigon. Then I went to Intel and chewed ass for their lack of knowledge about the presence of VC in the area we had asked about.
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About the Book
Ernest Auerbach served as an Army captain in Vietnam during the build up of the war, 1966-1967. He recounts his adventures there and describes some of the general courts martial cases he tried and defended. This is "Catch 22" in reality.
About the Author
1. During the Vietnam war, I was one of the first Army Judge Advocate sent to the Republic of Vietnam. During those early days in 1966-1967 - when I was stationed at Saigon - the few of us there traveled throughout much of South Vietnam, much like circuit riding judges in our old West. My experiences are unique to that time and have not been written about. 2. Much about war is absurd and tends to defy imagination. This book is a compilation of impressions about Vietnam, the people, the soldiers serving there and the conditions under which we served. 3. My wife and I live in Connecticut. After leaving active Army service, I remained in the reserves and retired as a colonel. I have been a corporate attorney and corporate executive for many years, just retiring as a divisional vice president at AIG. I am currently a consultant to a major international consulting firm. I have lived and worked for many years in Germany, Vietnam, England, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong. I am the author of Joining the Inner Circle, How to Make it as a Senior Executive, published by John Wiley & Sons, and have been a contributor to business and legal papers and journals including the Wall Street Journal.