OCR Text |
Show Page2 Dialogue a page for the expression of opinion and exchange of ideas. daily exposure to a mass of impersonal statistics it is easy to forget that the Vietnamese are actual living people and not just lifeless chess pawns to be tallied and analyzed in terms of mathematical formulas. I remembered the three thousand people killed at Hue by the VC when they took over for two weeks. For every one of those three thousand someone was left behind to weep. To many of us out here, risking our these are more than numbers. They talk, smile and yes, even cry when. a loved one is lost. The weather had finally decided to take a definite stand in the form of a steady downpour so I went under the _ protective canvas covering in the back part of the truck. I sat there looking at all the boxes inside the truck. They were filled with presents fro the children at the orphanage bought with the money donated from the guys at Third MAF. A kid may not understand all the deep meanings of Christmas but he does understand kindness. The truck slowed down and stopped at the orphanage gate. The presents. weren't elaborate and maybe this wasn’t an earth shaking event. It was just a little thing like when the small girl gave me a new pair of glasses but then, this whole war is made up of all these little things. INL The first annual Wordpower Peace and Brotherhood awards will be presented to winners in October 1970. Two awards will be given, one in the area of civil rights and one in the area of world peace and brotherhood. They will be limited to residents of Utah. Nominate your choice by writing a letter of fifty words or less giving your reasons for selecting the candidate Milwaukee, # o- ack or ee to Editorial offices, selected by a panel of three judges and will be notified at the monthily NAACP meeting held at The Nettie Gregory Community Center,| Tao W.S. Temple on October 5 at8 p.m. (next to the Richy Theater) 840 West North Temple Prop. Bill Miller Paperbacks Noon to Nine WHITE | 875 East Ninth South _ Bookstore ‘ Following begins a series of letters and articles from a young man in Vietnam, Corporal Lyle C. Cevaal. This man brings the human side of the war to those of us at home by sharing experiences and thoughts, with us. A native of # mail aoe Salt Lake City, Utah 84105 Phone (801) 364-5241 WORDPOWER THE LONELY SIDE OF WAR ieae and Wordpower Newspaper, 975 East 3300 South, Suite Salt Lake City, Utah 84106. Deadline is August 15th. Winners will . be Don's Barber Shop Fg PoE lives, PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD AWARDS TO BE GIVEN Wisconsin, Corporal Cevaal has been with the Marine Corps for four years and will finish his tour in August. He is attempting to locate a civilian job in Vietnam upon his release from service. For those who would like to help — clothes for small desperately needed children for are poor Vietnamese families. Contact WORDPOWER Newspaper for information on contributing such clothing. It was one of those days when the weather couldn’t quite make up its mind. The sentry gave a routine salute as our truck roared out the gate of the Third MAF compound. [ stood up towards the front of the truck and held onto the fifty caliber machine gun to keep it from swinging around and hitting me in the head. The morning wind felt good on my face. Along both sides of the road were rows of Vietnamese houses. made out of tin, wood and concrete. On the road and in the yards were the usual collection of various assorted Vietnamese. | don’t know why but the children make the most dramatic impressions. Perhaps it is because they are helpless and know nothing of the world they have been born into. They are the receivers of the most noble and, at the same time, the most wretched acts man is capable of. Our truck came to a crossroads and | recalled a little girl that I once bought a pair of sunglasses from at the same crossroads. [t was the dividing point for four different places. To the south was Marble Mountain, Third MAF was north where | had just been, China Beach lay to the east and the west road led to the city of Da Nang. So it was a natural place for many roadside shops because all the vehicles stop here and most hitchhikers get off here to get another ride. When you get to the corner you are. usually met by about ten small children carrying sunglasses, watches and beads. If you let them know right away that you don’t want anything they will leave and try to sell to someone else. At any rate it is best not to have them around for any reason for a very long time because buying from them is frowned upon and because they sometimes slit the GI’s pocket with a tiny razor and scoop up whatever falls out. But the sun was very bright that day so I bought a pair as quickly as I could. It turned out that I didn’t look closely enough at the glasses because one of the things that rests on your nose was broken off and the glasses could not be worn. Almost all of the kids including the little girl that had sold me the glasses had gone across to the other side of the street and | would not have found her if | had looked all day. I told one small boy standing next to me and to my complete amazement. he motioned for me to follow him across the street where he quickly talked to the girl and she gave me a good pair. She said with words and with her eyes that she was sorry | had gotten a broken pair. It was just a little thing in a way until you understand all the things behind it. Out here there isn’t any Better Business Bureau and I certainly wouldn’t want to go to the MP’s. Besides I might never come this way again. All this the little boy and girl knew so they really didn’t have io give me anything if they didn’t want to, but they did. The truck. was past the crossroads now and we were going by a school. The kids were out in the playground in their blue and white gym clothes. Right there from the truck, they could have been American or any other country. Playing tag, lots of laughter and a few squables. Recess time is the same the world over. But past the school I saw the children once again as Vietnamese. Some wore baseball hats, a T-shirt and shorts. Some wore sweaters and some wore shirts. Their eyes were bright, not yet dulled by grief or age. Their faces were quick to bear a smile and they knew how to say things without words. | It seems that the barrier of different cultures is broken most easily through children. Through POVERTY There is no one who Wordpower is published every other Friday by Wordpower, Inec., a non-profit organization. knows about poverty better than a “poverty person”. They: know how hard it is to make something out of nothing. Children born into poverty seem somehow to understand the situation and never complain, Editorial Ofc. 975 E. 3300 South Suite 1 Tel. 486-9371 at least not aloud. Many children understand the situation as time goes by, sometimes they decide they want more and tale it, but on the other hand vou will find middle class children getting into trouble, iditor-in-chief - Marlene Marie Young Assistant Editor Shirley Shields too. Contributing Editors: A good solution to this problem would be to provide employment for young people. They need jobs and this would help them understand the value of money and budgeting. Another big obstacle is education. Poverty childern have trouble staying in school and succeeding. [ urge everyone to help our young people — hire some if you kd Brown, Sports Lucy Black, “Whose Pond” Column “Through a Child’s Eyes”, Staff, Headstart Day Care Center Roberta Herschfield Ann Tolley, Jobs Marie Darling ‘‘From the President’s Desk” Dorothy Pulley, CAP Satellite Center Mary Adams, Social Security and Medicare Advertising Department can. Encourage ail to stay in school and fearn skills. We must restore their faith in themselves and thew abilities. Advertising & Sales Director: Manny Rojas, Staff: Glen K. Douglas Publicity Director: Shirley Shields A Parent Advertising rates available upon request’ aie need and demands for change in our society are often slow—-—— painst akenly Investment W Greater Western : in the know. Invest in an List effort to concern GREATER WESTERN 867 SOUTH 4TH EAST is atlast, a make human of business. INVESTMENT SALT corporation tife es CORPORATION LAKE CITY. UTAH |