American Dirt, a novel by Jeanine Cummings (2019), puts a human face and gives voice to migrants trying to work their way into the United States, just as Woody Guthrie’s song, “Deportee” (1948), adds voice to migrants seeking a better life in the United States, just as Risking Death to Find Freedom—Thirty Escape Stories by Vietnamese Boat People, edited by Nguy Vu, Editor, and Richard H. Sindt, Consulting Editor, (2005), through thirty personal essays puts both face and voice to the Vietnamese boat people trying to escape Communism for a better life.
American Dirt is well-written and suspenseful. It is compelling. I found myself pulling for the legitimate migrants depicted in this story.
“Deportee” holds meaning not only because of the depth and haunting beauty of the song but also because Alan Lomax, the uncle of John Lomax III (my next door neighbor and childhood/adult friend, was prominent “in preserving and publishing recordings” (Wikipedia) of Woody Guthrie’s work, as well as other folklorists.
Risking Death to Find Freedom is meaningful not only because its stories depict the horror these people endured (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of deaths that occurred among those who fled South Vietnam), but because I and a significant number of OCS graduates from Infantry Officer Class 507-68 were assigned as infantry advisors to the South Vietnamese—many of us assigned to five-man mobile advisory teams (MATs) to work with South Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces. While initially I didn’t want to be there, I adjusted my attitude (thanks to admonition from a crusty sergeant), worked hard, and grew to love the South Vietnamese people who were fighting for freedom. Our country (its politicians and the public) abandoned them–as well as America’s citizen soldiers and its warriors.
Carrots (© 1997)
“I am not a deserter.”
“Some South Vietnamese think you are.”
Silly reasons.
Just because we raised some hopes
of those who tried.
Just because we left them
a desecrated countryside.
Just because we left them.
Carrots.
Lots of carrots … yanked away
Silly reasons.