Doc Smith and Hoa

In 1967 Glenn Smith was a Corpsman working with Marine CAP Unit Charlie 2-2-4 in the small village of Dai Loc, just south of Da Dang. A CAP unit (Combined Action Program)consisted of a small group of Marines assigned to live in a village and help pacify and protect the people in the area. As a result, they often got to know the local people quite well. While Glenn spent most of his time on the Marine base located on Hill 65 just outside of Dai Loc, he would often go down to the village to help the villagers and the Marines.

Hoa was a young boy of about ten when Doc Smith arrived in his village. Though only a young boy, Hoa idolized the Marines and hung out with them every day. He polished their boots, cleaned their weapons, and often slept in the bunkers with them. He considered himself a Marine. Today, Hoa's guesthouse near Marble Mountain has become almost a legend to the backpackers that pass through the Da Nang area. His English and his "take it easy" attitude have made him loved and respected by most who have gotten to know him. He has become a very dear friend of mine.

One cannot spend much time around Hoa without hearing of Charlie 2-2-4 and the days of the war. He often speaks of the Marines who lived in his village and became such a big part of his life. I decided one day to do a little research on C-2-2-4 and came across an email address for Glenn Smith. When I asked Glenn if he knew or remembered a boy named Hoa, Glenn replied immediately that he did indeed remember him. He even had photographs of the two of them together.This initial contact resulted in Glenn coming back to Vietnam, something he had often considered but never acted upon. Hoa and Glenn got back together after forty three years.

The death of Marine Sgt. Flynn was an event that both Hoa and Glenn remembered very well. Glenn was the Corpsman who retrieved Flynn's body after he was shot while trying to cross the river. Hoa thought of Sgt. Flynn as almost a father figure. Before coming back to Vietnam, Glenn had some dogtags made for Sgt. Flynn and wanted to put them in the river close to where he was killed. We went back to the scene and had to walk across a muddy flood plain to get to the river. Hoa probably doesn't weigh a hundred pounds and skirted over the mud like a waterbug. Glenn, on the other hand, weighs more than two hundred pounds and sunk into the sucking mud up to his knees. As Glenn was trying to retrieve his shoe that had been pulled off by the muck, Hoa turned to him and said, "Glenn, walk lightly."