Linda L.T. Baer - Red Blood, Yellow Skin: A Young Girls Survival in War-Torn Vietnam

Published by River Grove Books

Austin, TX

www.rivergrovebooks.com

Copyright 2015 Linda L.T. Baer

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Distributed by River Grove Books

For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact River Grove Books at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, 512.891.6100.

Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group

Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group

Cover images: iStockphoto.com/pressdigital

Publishers Cataloging Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-63299-028-0

First Edition

Other Edition(s):

Print ISBN: 978-1-63299-027-3

Red Blood, Yellow Skin is a story of courage, compassion, and faith. It is a fascinating account of the Vietnamese peoples love of family, strength of character, and will to survive unbelievable hardships. Linda B. is a remarkable and successful woman and proud to be an American.

GENERAL AND MRS. WILLIAM C. WESTMORELAND

Reading gives opportunity to live (although temporarily) a life of experiences in places, and with people, previously unknown and even unimagined. Red Blood, Yellow Skin offers the opportunity to join the life of a young girl, as she experiences many difficult obstacles in her struggles to get through childhood and teen years in a beautiful but harsh land that is increasingly torn by the havoc of war. One experiences the joys of extended family closeness and loyalty; the confusion of interruption of family serenity by death and intrusion of others; the uncertainty, difficulty, and fears of frequent moves from place to place; the periods of near-starvation and poverty; and many other experiences generally unknown to middle-class Americans. The road to survival, and ultimately into the arms of true love and security, keeps the reader on the edge along with the main character as she deals with the disappointments, encouragements, struggles, victories, weakness, and tenacity so skillfully presented in Red Blood, Yellow Skin.

JOHN R. BRAUN, ED.D, Emeritus professor of chemistry,
The Citadel, Charleston, SC

IN APRIL 1968, I was assigned to Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base, near Saigon. I spent one year there as a casualty officer in the US Air Force. After going back to America and retiring in 1969, I returned to Vietnam, where I worked on US Army Government contracts for a period of four years. Having spent a total of five years in Vietnam during the war, I am personally familiar with the horror and violence that Vietnam experienced.

It wasnt until I read Linda Baers Red Blood, Yellow Skin, however, that I realized how brutally affected the Vietnamese people were by that terrible war. Linda tells the story of how she and her family survived so many narrow escapes with death, while many of her family members were not so lucky. In her heartwarming innocence, we witness the resilience, strength, and courage that she and so many of the Vietnamese people demonstrated, so often overlooked when history describes that war. Lindas will and determination to survive are beyond my imagination, resulting in a fascinating reflection of how a human being can endure during trying times. This struggle is frequently softened by her unending love and sense of humor, which she is somehow able to maintain in the midst of countless disappointments and suffering.

I know that her story is true, because in 1968, I met and fell in love with Linda. She was the reason I returned to Vietnam in 1969. Through her, I was introduced to Vietnam, not as I witnessed it from behind the walls of an air force base, but as it truly waswith all the death and destruction that brutal war forced upon its gentle and courageous people. And through her and her precious family, I was also introduced to a peaceful civilization that dated back thousands of years, with culture and traditions that I could never have imagined. I learned the value of close family relationships that went far beyond any that I had ever known. I witnessed the depth of sorrow that her family and so many others felt when a loved one was lost to age, illness, or the insanity of war.

I was welcomed into Lindas family, even with my blue eyes, auburn hair, and strange-sounding language. They accepted and loved me as though I were a blood relative. And today, nearly fifty years later, her family still treats me with the respect and consideration they extended when we first met. They are a loving, warm group, who overlook my many faults and always hold their arms out to me. Their laughter and joy continue to teach me that happiness does not come from outside influences, but from love and empathy within the soul. I am happy and proud to be a part of their family unit.

In Red Blood, Yellow Skin, Linda tells the truth, though sometimes brutal, about her experiences, from losing her father to the terrors of her family moving to a new land with nothing more than the clothes they wore on their backs. She looks the corruption of that era straight in the eye and relates the struggles she experienced while trying to survive. However, she never overlooks the beauty of Vietnam or the family that she loved so dearly. She always lets us know that even though none of us are perfect, she can still see the light of beauty and love in everyone. And she manages, somehow, to present this very moving and serious story with guile and enough humor to evoke laughterindeed, it will make you laugh and cry.

Though I may sound partial, the fact is Linda is an intelligent, loving woman with an explosive sense of humor. She is an incredible author, who has managed to bring to us her experiences during a dreadful war, but at the same time shows us the depth of love and joy that the Vietnamese have mustered in spite of that. This book will leave you with a newfound respect for a culture few of us in America have ever imagined, an understanding of the horrors and insanity of war, and amazement at how Linda and her homeland have survived.

K. DONALD BAER
Captain, US Air Force, Retired

THANKS TO MY mother, who taught me by her example, through the most difficult of times, the values and qualities of life that I hold so dear; to General and Mrs. Westmoreland, for their wonderful review of my story; and to all of my friends and clients, who read my story, gave me powerful comments, and encouraged me to publish my book.

A special thanks to my husband, for his research and creative historical input, for the numerous hours helping me edit my book, and for standing by me through thick and thin. By loving me, he gave me the freedom and encouragement to be the best that I can be. Without Dons help, this book would not exist.

Thanks to my children and grandchildren, who love and share their life with me. And to my brothers and sister, and my nieces and nephews, whose love and respect for me is endless.

May God bless them all!

THE NIGHT THE Viet Minh attacked our village, they found my father hiding in the church steeple. They shot him in the neck and pushed him through a window. He landed on a mound of broken glass. One attacker heard him moan and ran over to finish him off. With a machete, he chopped my fathers face into four piecesthe sign of the cross. My father fell silent. I saw his bloody face soon after he died. I was four years old. The Viet Minh occupied our village and destroyed my peaceful existence.