In two previous letters I mentioned that I was going to Hong Kong for R&R. This letter was written after I had returned to Viet Nam. It’s a long letter describing my R&R so I decided to do it in two parts. Here goes: “Dear mom & dad & Sue, Like I said on the phone Hong Kong was beautiful. I really had a tremendous time. We arrived about 8:30 pm on May 11. After the briefing we went directly to our hotels in Kowloon – across the bay from Hong Kong. I went up to the room (escorted by the manager) and then he called a tailor to come get me so I could get some civilian clothes. I bought a ready made shirt, pair of pants, 3 pair of underwear, t-shirts, and socks and one pair of shorts. I also ordered a suit (the blue one) and 2 pair of tailor made slacks. Grand total $95. The next day – one more suit, a sweater and a walking suit. This stuff I have and it’s paid for, and most of it is on its way home to you. Anyway, after I left the tailor I went back to the hotel (oh yes – I had two beers at the tailor shop free of charge), the manager brought me up to the lounge on the 9th floor (I was living on the 8th) and we settled down in a booth. He bought me a drink (gin and tonic) and we made small talk. After that he ordered me another one. Then he made some signal with his hand, got up – and a girl came over and sat next to me. She was fairly nice looking and very friendly. I was very impressed with the way things were going! She asked me if I’d like her to spend the night and being the nice guy that I am, I said ‘Sure, why not!’ She called mama san over and we did business over another drink. Now I should tell you a little about these girls that stay with GIs while they’re in Hong Kong. They are mostly bar girls. They all carry a card that says they are professionals. They get a medical check once a week. Many are very nice and I don’t think prostitute or whore is a good word for them. We think of them as paid companions. If you buy a girl for a week, she’ll take you around Hong Kong, make sure you don’t get taken in any of the stores and they are excellent help. Also if you want they keep you happy at night – take you to good night clubs, movies whatever you want to do. They usually get about $35 per day. I had two companions while I was there. The first was very nice, and the second, although a very beautiful girl – was a bitch. After the second day when I had bought all my clothes, a watch and paid for my room ($40), I didn’t have but about $200 left – so I gave it to the girl (Amy) and gave her complete control over how we spent it. This was by far the worst mistake I made. She took me to eat at Chinese restaurants, French restaurants, and American restaurants. The best meal I had was right in the hotel restaurant. Filet Mignon served on a skillet type thing (very hot). I had a salad and the waiter prepared the dressing right in from of me. He hovered above me for the whole meal making sure I needed nothing.”
“Amy also took me to the Latin Quarter Night club. They had two fine bands (one of 5 guys and one of two guys and three girls), plus two marvelous Korean dancers. It was a remarkable show. Then the next night Amy took me to the Playgirl Club. I had never seen a club like this. The performers were all gay. They were transvestites – men changed to girls. They had breast transformations, female legs. Even the most naked, you would still swear they were girls. The MC (a very funny comedian) wore rubber falsies. The show was entertaining, fascinating, funny and very good. It was not at all disgusting which I thought it would be.” My naivete and lack of knowledge of all things LGBTQ are showing here.
“Amy also took me to three movies, two of which were war pictures, and I didn’t really enjoy them. Whenever Amy returned to her own bar for clandestine reasons (gambling my money or hustling drinks), I was on my own. I usually just went walking around the city and stopping at bars here and there where other bar girls would try to pick me up. If I hadn’t given my money to Amy – I would have picked up another girl. Many of them are very beautiful. Most will leave you alone when they find out you’re broke. But some aren’t like that. Brenda Lee wasn’t one of those. When I ran out of money, she’d buy me a drink or give me a meal. We’d talk together and dance to the juke box. Even her mama san was friendly – and sharp as a knife. I watched her put a snow-job on several GIs to get them to buy her girls out of the bar. No one bought Brenda Lee and I couldn’t figure that out. She dresses well and looks very beautiful. All the girls wear very tight slacks or mini skirts that make American girls mini skirts look like granny gowns. It’s a wonder they could sit down in them and some of them can’t.” I’ m going to stop here and continue Part 2 next week. Once again I amazed by the guy (me at 22) who wrote this letter home. Below is a picture of Brenda Lee. In part 2, I finish talking about R&R and my return to Viet Nam.
