Cease Fire Now

In the 1960s, it took almost three weeks to cross the sea from America to Vietnam. Three weeks for young men in crowded cabins with salt water showers and absolutely nothing to do but think about home, the war, and what might be next. In this Memorial Day special episode we focus on a single troopship, the General Nelson M. Walker, and a few of the soldiers who traveled on it.

There’s the man who wrote home about the voyage to Vietnam—about tanning oil, hillbilly radio, and a run-in with a typhoon. Another who survived the jungles of Vietnam, only to return home and feel as though democracy had passed him by. And then there’s the fiancée who snuck on board to say one last goodbye to her lover before he was killed in action.

Through found tape and contemporary interviews, we recreate the troopship experience and capture the moments outside of combat—three weeks there, and, for the lucky ones—three weeks back.

These stories were produced in partnership with The Vietnam Graffiti Project.


Later in the show: Women journalists who covered the Vietnam War are often not given their proper due when the history of the conflict is told. Joyce Hoffman (Old Dominion University) is the author of On Their Own: Women Journalists in Vietnam. She shares stories of women who won esteemed prizes for their reporting and several who broke new ground covering the war. Plus: In recent years, more and more military mothers have been deployed throughout the world. Mona Ternus says there’s a connection between the length of time military mothers are deployed and an increase in drug use, attempted suicide, and other risk factors for their children.


Messages From a Forgotten Troopship

Here

The Therapist

Happy Father's Day, Pops <3

so what’s holding me back
i dance on the edge of a major shift   
i stare at the deep end of nothingness
and walk on an unpaved happiness

and i must confess
they haven’t failed me yet
but you know they will
like it’s part of the deal
you know they will

i’m bugging out
is that you?
still heeding the warnings,
you left me to remember the reasons you loved me like you did
and all of the time we spent

so take the leap innocent son of mine
like i did
my hand tho dust, please take it
this life will be just fine
like i did

and you’re taking me back?
accepting the fact, you’ll love me still
cuz it’s part of the deal
you know they will

i’m bugging out
is that you?
i’m hearing your voice
louder without you, in the room
in the space, where you lay, where i forgave
took a spirit to take me away
took your spirit to love me this way

so take the leap innocent son of mine
and tell me
though i’m not here to hold you
and the things you held inside
like i did

and i know i know i know
modern love is in your soul
i did see you for who you are
a shame we never got that spark

i’ll be in the woods
on the first of may
sing to me if you lose your way
you’ll walk in the dark and that’s okay
you’ll walk in the dark and that’s okay
like i did

Written by: Christian Minus
Produced by: Christian Minus
Unmixed & Unmastered by: Christian Minus

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2020 GOF Music

honey moon 2021 <3

The Therapist

Audio Mom

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