Pleasant as this is, the R & R-er has another reason for not caring how long the flight takes: his allotted five days and nights do not begin until the plane touches down. When it does, he is again briefed by the local R & R center (sample from Taipei: "Keep out of the buses or you may lose your wallet. Do not purchase the company of a girl for more than 24 hours at a time; they seldom look as good in the morning."). The R & R center will also arrange to rent him civilian clothes (several countries are nervous about having U.S. personnel in uniform). And then come his five carefree days, single-mindedly devoted to the pursuit of pleasure.
休特別假的美軍能如此輕鬆,是因為他們不必擔心飛行時間的長短。這五天五夜的假期,要從飛機著陸後才開始計算。飛抵目的地後,他再度接受簡短的忠告。(例如到台北時會聽到:「不要上公車,因為你的錢包可能會不見。還有買春別超過24小時,因為她們第二天起床後的「芳容」常會讓你驚艷。」)當地的「美軍特別假接待處」,將為他租用便服(有幾個國家對穿制服的美軍很敏感)。然後就開始他五天無憂無慮的日子,全心全意地去享受。
In general, the modern U.S. serviceman is better educated, more sophisticated, more curious about alien cultures, and better behaved than any of his predecessors—and he has more money to spend. On the average, he spends roughly $200, making a total yearly tourist bonanza for the area of some $72 million. And he may be the best-behaved soldier in history. One R & R officer stationed in Thailand, where the record shows only one serious incident for every 12,000 G.I.s who visit Bangkok, says: "The trouble rate is so low, no one wants to believe it." In Hong Kong, police authorities say that they have more trouble with the resident British garrison than from visiting U.S. servicemen. Busting up bars seems to be something that went out with From Here to Eternity and the professional army. The G.I. these days is a civilian at heart—and savvy enough to reject the most importunate tout’s offer of "a good place" with a grin and a worldly-wise shake of the head.
他在這五天中所追求的,正如美國青年一樣的各式各樣,都不相同。大致說來,近代的美軍比過去的教育良好,對國外文化興趣較濃,行為也較好,而且可花的錢較多。休假者平均每人花費200美元,使休假區一年約增7200萬美元的旅遊收入。同時,他們也許是歷史上軍紀最好的軍人。駐在泰國的一位「美軍特別假接待處」軍官說:「違紀而引起事故的比率很低,低到沒人相信。」在曼谷休假的美軍,12000人中只發生一次嚴重的事故。香港的警察當局也說,駐在當地的英軍都比休假美軍發生的事故多。近代的美軍從心底是平民,他們對那些提議有「好地方」的惹人厭的黃牛,會用微笑或老練地搖頭表示拒絕。
What he seeks and what he does in his five days is as various as American youth itself.
World’s Biggest PX. Basic drives remain simple. First come good food, clean sheets and hot water. "I took four showers the first day," says SP4 Ethen Woodward, a mortarman with the 1st Infantry Division. "I hadn’t had a hot shower in ten months." Some first seek out the local R & R center and gorge on fresh milk, hamburgers and ice cream. Next objective is usually, in the words of a 173rd Airborne trooper, "a girl." But, he added carefully, "I’m also very interested in the cultural bit. I figure I may only be coming this way once." And because they may never come this way again, large numbers of R & Ring servicemen earnestly seek, watch, explore and examine a range of cultures that they would never otherwise have even glimpsed.
這龐大的休假計畫,基本需要很簡單,首先是精美的食物,整潔的床單和熱水的供應。第一步兵師一位迫擊砲砲兵伍華德說:「第一天我洗了四次熱水淋浴。十個月來我一次都沒有洗到熱水浴。」有人首先找到當地的「美軍特別假接待處」,狼吞虎嚥地吃下新鮮的牛奶、漢堡及冰淇淋。第二個目標,用第173空降師傘兵的話來說,就是「女人」。但他接著說:「我對外國的文化也很有興趣,我想我也許只有一次這樣的機會。」正因為他們也許不會再有機會,許多渡假美軍熱心地搜尋、觀賞、探測他們在其他情形下無法經歷得到的文化領域。
Among single men, the favorite city is Bangkok. Its Petcahburi Road offers the neon-lit Goldfinger Massage Parlor, the Whisky A Go-Go Club and some 50,000 bar girls, but also impressive temples for inspection during the recuperative hours. The companionship of a girl who also numbers English among her several skills can be secured for $11 a day or $50 for a full five days. After Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei get about equal attention. Tokyo is particularly popular in summer because it is cooler, attracts those troopers who like modern nightclubs but also recognize that Japan is one of the great cultures of the Eastern world.
休假美軍喜歡訪問的城市之一是曼谷。曼谷的柏卡蒲里路(水門路)上,矗立著霓虹燈閃閃發光的「金手指按摩院」,「威士忌阿哥哥夜總會」,以及約五萬名酒吧女郎,此外還有讓人印象深刻的大小寺廟。能講英語的伴遊女郎,一天代價美金十一元,整整五天則收五十元。除了曼谷、東京、香港和台北也引起休假美軍同樣的興趣。東京在夏天尤受歡迎,涼爽的天氣,吸引了喜歡新式夜總會的美軍,而且日本也是擁有東方偉大文化的國家之一。
Taipei, which has few cultural monuments apart from the great collection of Chinese art in the National Museum, has gained R & R status from the complaisance of its girls and the excellence of its food.
台北除了故宮博物院豐富的中國文物收藏外,很少有文化古蹟可以欣賞,但卻以女人的柔順和食物的精美,膺選為美軍休假城市。
Hong Kong is also the most popular R & R center for the Seventh Fleet; the arrival and departure of U.S. ships coming off patrol duty off Viet Nam is recorded on an updated blackboard at many a bar-dancehall in its famed Wanchai district. Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore get fewer applicants—mostly those who want to avoid the sight of fellow Americans.
香港是第七艦隊的休假中心;美國在越南海外擔任巡弋任務艦隻的來往,記錄在有名的灣仔區許多酒吧兼舞廳的黑板上面。申請在檳榔嶼、吉隆坡及新加坡休假的較少,會到那些地方大部份都是不想和其他美國人晤面的軍人。
Fastest-rising star is Sydney, Australia, which was only put on the R & R list two months ago; its appeal is great surfing, a change of diet ("No rice on the plate," says one G.I.), and a place where everybody speaks English. Says Lieut. Tom Ryan, of the 1st Airborne Division and Big Rapids, Mich.: "It’s great just to see white girls with round eyes again." Major Norman G. Lau-meyer of Long Prairie, Minn., a helicopter pilot of the 1st Cavalry Division and a farmer in civilian life, took a day’s flying tour to inspect ranches, explaining: "Here I feel like I’m back among my own people." Australians apparently feel the same way. Some 4,000 families have standing offers for visiting G.I.s to live at their homes during their R & R stay.
最近崛起的休假城市是澳洲雪梨,雪梨列入「特別假」城市的名單才兩個月;它的吸引力在於良好的衝浪海濱,食物可以換換口味(一位士兵說:「盤子裡終於不再見到米飯。」),以及人人都說英語。第一空降師的雷恩中尉說:「雪梨的偉大,在於重新可以看到眼睛很大的白種女郎。」勞米易少校是第一騎兵師的直升機飛行員,未從軍時是農人,他花了一天的飛行時間去訪問澳洲的牧場。他說:「在這裏,我感到像是回到了自己人中間。」澳洲人顯然也有相同的感覺。已有四千家澳洲家庭,願意在他們家裏招待休假美軍。
Midway Rendezvous. Curiously, the biggest R & R city is Honolulu. Its appeal is neither its hula dancers nor its beaches. It is simply that Hawaii is a geographical midway point for a rendezvous with a wife or a sweetheart for five brief days. The expense can be staggering, even though Hawaiian hotels offer a discount to military personnel. But month after month, more R&R-ers (some 7,290-odd) take the long trek to Hawaii than anywhere else.
說也奇怪,在「特別假」計劃中,申請人數最多的城市卻是檀香山。檀香山之受人歡迎,既不在於熱辣辣的草裙舞,也不是風光如畫的海灘。只因夏威夷位居美國本土與越南的中間,是短短五天中和太太或情人會晤的最理想場所。夏威夷的旅社雖有軍人優待折扣,費用之大仍然可觀,但是,月復一月,踏上這一漫長旅程前往休假的美軍,遠較其他城市為多,每月約在7290以上。
At the end of their five days, whether their activities have been licit or illicit, cultural or psychedelic, they dutifully turn up at the R&R center for the trip back to Viet Nam, tired, probably broke, but almost certainly happy —or at least, happier.
五天假期結束時,不論他們的行動合宜不合宜,文明不文明,他們都要準時前往「美軍特別假接待處」報到,辦理返越手續。雖然顯得疲倦,也許囊空如洗,他們幾乎都很愉快--至少比以前愉快一點。
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