Dale Hanson

Well, we had this teak from Vietnam that was really hard.

And I would always get his guys to mill it on their milling machine.

You keep taking my guys.

But I remember I was getting ready to go on one of these really rough ones.

And I think I was talking to Novi.

And he gave me a book of poetry.

And I was reading it.

It was poetry of the wars.

And this one was, I memorized it.

I was really nervous about going out the next day.

And that poem was all night long, thrown against a buddy, slain, with his gnashing teeth, bared to the full moon.

I was writing letters full of love, never had I hugged life so dear.

Wow.

Yeah, and things like that.

Novi would give me something like that.

He'd never suggest for a moment that you're nervous, but he would do something to encourage you.

Novi was interesting, too, because Novi was a friend.

And he had the mortar pool, and then there was one who ran the mess hall, and there was another one who ran the club.

And they were going from Khantoum to Pleiku, six miles away, to buy stuff for their needs.

And Novi was in the Jeep, too.