Cat Ballou and Hanoi Jane

"Hanoi Jane" Fonda just popped up on TV on a game show, of all places. Using impeccable timing, they scheduled her appearance for just before Veterans Day. Considering her later reputation with Viet Nam vets, it's ironic now that her picture, "Cat Ballou" with Lee Marvin and that drunken horse, was the 'backup flick' at Trang Sup in 1966. When we couldn't get another picture, we'd break out our private copy of "Cat" and watch it again. After awhile, the whole camp could recite much of the dialogue from memory right along with the actors.

Eventually, "Cat" did wear out her welcome and was traded for some other picture, but it wasn't the same and the new back up picture was soon traded also. No other picture really ever took the Cat's unique place. In spite of Ms Fonda's later indiscretions, I'll always remember "Cat Ballou" with great fondness. Actually, Lee Marvin as the drunken Kid Shelleen aboard his apparently equally tipsy horse gave the movie much of its appeal.
When Marvin won the Oscar for his dual role of identical twins Kid Shelleen and the evil Tim Strawn, he gave all the credit to his horse. One quote I'll always remember: Marvin, as the whiskey-soaked Shelleen, put on a stunning, extraordinary demonstration of marksmanship for Cat while guzzling down a pint of whiskey. Then, he all but collapsed in a drunken stupor when the rotgut lit on top of whatever else he’d already drank. One of the other characters wryly remarked, "I've never seen a man get through a day so fast."
It was like the transformation Ms Fonda has had in my recollections of Viet Nam; though the picture has a fond spot in my heart, I'm afraid she does not. As Nat Cole and Stubby Kaye sang, "Cat Ballou, Cat Ballou…she’s mean and evil through and through." I still like the picture, though.
We used to watch that old Vic Morrow series, "Combat," which the SF folks really liked and referred to as OJT; but some light-fingered knuckle head made off with the TV set. It was never replaced, so we had to fall back on such devices as liars’ poker, craps, and real poker to divert ourselves. Funny, I can’t remember playing pinochle at Trang Sup, although I played it everywhere else I was stationed.
But, I seemed to have wandered away from Ms Fonda, which isn’t a bad thing, so I guess I’ll shut up for now. Oh, I did play pinochle in Viet Nam, but that was down in Tay Ninh with the crew I’d brought back after I'd PCS'd to the Philippines. I was sent back TDY from Clark to remove the radar after Detachment 7 had been deactivated. Somebody decided that I was perfect to head up the job since I had "experience" in Viet Nam and at Trang Sup, in particular. Lucky me; I was perfectly willing to let somebody else get some "experience." Lord knows there was plenty to go around.
I got stuck in Tay Ninh West for a few weeks waiting for transport out to the PI with the radar. That was during Tet of ’68 and we got shelled every day without fail. One of my better TDYs, though if truth be told, I would have much preferred to be TDY in Beautiful Downtown Bangkok rather than where I was - be it Tay Ninh West or Tay Ninh City. I will be forever grateful to the kind soul who sent me back to Viet Nam because of my vast experience.
©2001 Thurman P. Woodfork