Panorama Skills on the Home Front? NO, MEMORIAL DAY

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Panorama Skills on the Home Front? NO, MEMORIAL DAY 2020

by panist and Vietnam veteran Dalton Narine

Global - ....Grandfather was flown back to Venezuela, and later Trinidad, where they named Gonzales, Belmont, after him. Rudolph Charles [“Charlo”] insisted that I was born on the Laventille Hill. Little did he know I was born in Gonzales, a ritual for all our families. Charlo must have meant conceived, not born.

Anyway, in Vietnam, I was in the trenches, too — defensive perimeters made up of wire, mines, machine guns, sandbags and bunkers. I spoke to Grandfather one night when my company was expecting the Viet Cong (VC) to roll in. These night devils would disrupt your sleep in a minute. So I meditated with him as if he were prayers sent by the Almighty. I felt relieved.

On the battlefield, we played a game of survival, young uninformed Trini-American soldiers.

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