In this episode of Dearest Suzie, we follow Popi through one of the most morally complex days of his deployment. Writing on April Fools’ Day, 1965, he begins with heat and headaches, but quickly moves into a harrowing story of hesitation — where instincts, orders, and ethics collide.

After flying over a minefield and narrowly avoiding disaster, Popi and his crew encounter a group of over a hundred unarmed men in an open field. A Vietnamese officer pleads with them to open fire, certain they are Viet Cong. Instead, Popi lands. The men beg for their lives, claiming to be farmers. They’re let go. Later, the Americans find out the truth: they were part of a group that had attacked a nearby outpost hours before.

What’s Covered:

• A failed mission to intercept a Viet Cong battalion.
• Popi’s helicopter setting off a mine during a landing attempt.
• A tense standoff with suspected—but unarmed—Viet Cong.
• Reflections on the difficulty of making ethical decisions in war.
• Popi’s admission that he stopped keeping a diary after witnessing the aftermath of a massacre.

📷 Featured Photo: A group of Vietnamese civilians — men and children, some on bicycles, others in conical hats — stand by the roadside. Like the men in Popi’s letter, their identities are uncertain. Resistance fighters? Innocent bystanders? This photo, like the moment it echoes, holds no easy answers.

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