I regret that I don’t remember the names of the other kids who were in that 8th grade class–I think there were only a handful–and would love to hear from anyone who does know them. Leland Barrows is the only name I can recall.

Pat and I took French language classes, which enabled us to sort of read Tintin and Asterix from the bookstore on Rue Catinat, and we had weekly watercolor painting lessons from a Chinese artist–I was more into it than he was, as I recall.

Our favorite hangout was the Cercle Sportif. I don’t think we were actually members, but us kids could use the pool, which was a relief from the heat and humidity (and turned bright green with algae by the end of each week).

Jodie worked on several projects, primarily to set up training schools to teach young men technical skills needed for the war effort. He helped another dad to organize a Boy Scout troop, and a group of us tenderfeet traveled by freighter from Saigon down the Mekong and up the coast to Nha Trang. We saw night phosphorescence and exotic flying fish along the way. I remember the beach there as a tropical paradise where we picked up beautiful intact seashells.

A group of people from USOM and the embassy chartered a plane a took a trip to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat in 1956. We were the only foreign visitors in the whole place, so it was quite an adventure for all of us!