Fallen Patriots

            This weekend I spent some time in the beautiful city of Hoi An. It is located about half-way down the country and, compared to Hanoi, it is quiet and peaceful. As I wandered the streets I peaked my head into a local antique shop to see what I could find. Sadly, in this peaceful city I found the reminders of an ugly war-torn past. In a glass cabinet tucked between the Vietnamese war medals and ancient clay pots were six little oval pieces of metal. These were no ordinary antiques. In fact, they were USMC dog-tags. Covered in rust, dented and dirty, these tags had the names of our soldiers, our boys who lost their lives fighting a brutal war decades ago. I was at first shocked, then outraged, as I realized what they were and how they came to be in that shop. I know that when a soldier is lost, one tag is taken from the body to identify him as a casualty. If battlefield conditions do not permit removal of the corpse, the other tag is to remain with the body…usually, not always, in the mouth held in place by the rigor mortis brought by death. Meaning that these tags were almost certainly taken from the boot, or pried from the mouths of our dead boys—our greatest patriots. As I gazed on the tags, I also began to wonder why on earth our country has not retrieved these tokens of death. These men gave their lives fighting for God and country—these men gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and liberty, yet the most personal reminders of their service are being pedaled like cheap smut on street corners. I wonder how they would feel, our boys, knowing what has become of their memory…knowing that after death their only identification was ruthlessly wrenched from their cold bodies. Worst of all, how have these dog-tags remained in the hands of a former enemy for four decades without our government coming to get them? Call me an idealist, but it is my strong opinion that these dog-tags should be brought back home, to where they belong. These tags should be sent to the families or the graves of the fallen, at the very least they should be on American soil, back in the good old US of A. I have talked to other travelers, and I have identified one location in Ho Chi Minh City where there are a large number of rusty old tags for sale. I will be traveling there this weekend with the Citadel group, and I intend to purchase every single tag I find. The only problem: Funding. I’m just a poor college kid who is already broke. Each tag goes for about fifteen dollars apiece, and from what I gathered, there are a few dozen at the location I mentioned in HCM City. So I ask you, I implore you, I beg of you…all who read this, please help me find the funding to bring back what is left of our fallen patriots. Those pieces of metal are symbols of lives lost, symbols of loyalty and patriotism, symbols of bloodshed, not collectable souvenirs for fascinated tourist to buy. My name is Devon Smith, and I intend to fix this travesty…help me, email me at smithd6@citadel.edu. I will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday. Time is of the essence.