Surviving In Disguise

During my seven years in Vietnam, I traveled many an open, but unsecured road. The highways of the Central Highlands, Highway 1 winding up the coast through rubber plantations and hamlets, and the highways around Saigon. Sometimes I only survived because I was small potatoes and the Viet Cong had a more important plan than shooting, or capturing me on the highway that particular day. However, they did on many occasions capture, or kill American military and civilians along the roads. Once my boss, an ex-Special Forces member, were on a road trip from Nha Trang to Da Lat. Bill Mc Cleary insisted on stopping to have a few beers, with a friend at an out-post along our route to Da Lat. He had me wringing my hands, as we sat and chatted with his friend. I knew we were pushing the envelope and would be caught in on the highway after dark. After dark no one was supposed to be traveling these roads. You were subject to be shot by both friendly forces and the Viet Cong.

As the sun went down, in the darkness, I was high tailing it down a mountain road towards a bridge, about twenty miles from Da Lat. All of a sudden automatic weapons fire opened up on both sides of the road. These were ARVAN's (Vietnamese Army) protecting the bridge. I slammed on the breaks, and our pick-up truck slid sideways down the road, screeching to a stop about a hundred yards from the bridge. A Vietnamese Officer approached our truck, with his weapon trained on us. He came to the drivers side and told me to get out of the truck. He told me that he wanted to show me something and to stay behind him. He pointed out a trip wire connected too a couple of Claymore mines on each side of the road. He had them disconnected and shook his head as I explained our predicament of traveling after dark. He flagged us on wishing us good luck, and I knew it was not over.

Not far out of Da Lat, we ran into a road block maned by National Guard. In their black pajamas they looked like VC to me, except they were carrying carbines and not AK-47's. Their leader approached our vehicle and looked in the window of our truck. He seemed not to look at my face, but starred at my wrist watch and pistol laying on the seat beside me. I'm sure he noticed that Bill McCleary held a Korean War vintage .45 cal. grease gun in his lap. It was known that the ARVN and National Guard had robbed and killed Americans on the highway at night. It may seem silly, but he looked just like the Chinese villain in the film Lord Jim, who tried to murder Peter O'Tool while taking him across the Hong Kong harbor at night. He wore a bandanna, and had glaucoma in one eye, giving him an extra sinister look. To this day I'm sure he wanted to rob us. The American musical group "The Bubble Machine" were shot and killed, not far out of Long Binh one night. One survived, but was wounded and played dead as the Vietnamese Army took their watches and wallets, after killing them.

My survival was not all dumb luck. One day near Nha Trang, I thought "what would make my trips safer on these unsecured roads". It dawned on me that if I looked like a Vietnamese, they would not just shoot me out of hand. On my next trip home, I went to a theatrical costume shop, on Powell street, just above Harpers Books. When the salesperson asked me what I was interested in, I asked if he could make me look like an Asian. He said he could and asked me if I was in a play. I replied that I was working in Vietnam, and wanted to use the disguise on road trips. Wow! he exclaimed, this is the most unusual request I've ever had. He presented me with a transparent mask, and wig to cover the borders of it. I carried it to Vietnam and kept it with me, wearing it on many occasions. From across the street, or in a passing vehicle, you could not tell that I had a mask on. I may be sitting here today because of this disguise, I have attached a picture of myself wearing it. People are funny about things like this story contains, if they have not seen, nor heard of anything like this in movies, or books, they become Doubting Thomas's. Years after I used this disguise, I heard that the CIA use this method for survival. I don't doubt it, simplicity of concept is powerful.