This is a picture of me in what we called a motorized- cyclo, cheap, maneuverable and fast, although with all the traffic and congestion there really was no “fast”.
They were also pretty dangerous and “Off Limits”, but what the hell, they were fun. I often rode in them on my trips to and from Saigon Airport to downtown Saigon. I remember who was with me and got out and took the picture. He was a fellow Security Policeman, from San Antonio, Jorge Rosales. He referred to himself as a “Texican” half Caucasian and half Mexican. I was from Brooklyn, I could care less, but in San Antonio, that was not the case.
We had both been previously stationed together at Pease Air Force Base, the SAC base in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Jorge too could not stand the cold and volunteered for Vietnam. We were good friends, lots of laughs and when we got a day off, we went into Saigon. I lost track of him, tried to look him up on the internet many times, no luck. I remember him the morning I was leaving in my dress uniform headed for the Civilian Air Terminal. Jorge still had a few more months to go. He looked tired and scared and the look on his face told me he was wishing he was going with me.
There were no words, I just left.
~Jim Markson, Vietnam Veteran, Author of Vietnam And Beyond, Veteran Reflections, Co-author: Jenny Lasala
www.VietnamAndBeyond.com
