Haddon Hufford
 

I served in Vietnam from May of 1969 until April of 1970 (21day early-out). My MOS was 84Charlie20--motion picture camera operator. The majority of the time I worked with Mike Newsom. I can still hear J.D. calling out, "Where are my MO-PICS?" Then he would say something ominous like, "Go to Tay Ninh and fly with medivac for a week." or just "Go to Bu Dop." The reward was always a trip to the 600 Photo Squadron at Tan Son Nhut to process and edit the footage (of course, this meant some free time in Saigon.) I lucked out and got three months TDY at AFVN radio and TV, assigned to network news services, providing Staff Sergeant Nick Paladino with material for his evening news report.

Back in the real world, I was stationed at the 4th Army Photo Lab at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for a year and three months before leaving active duty. In retrospect, I am grateful for the transition period.

After returning to New York, I made my way into the film business, and for the next 28 years, I worked first as a set builder and then as a grip on hundreds of TV commercials and 75 movies. On my first film, "Hester Street," I met my lady Taylor. Together we renovated a chapel built in 1875; and then we moved in. It's still our home. Traveling is an important part of our life together and one of our most ambitious trips included a month in China and eight days in Vietnam. For me, returning to Vietnam in 1995 after 25 years was truly a remarkable experience. I didn't know what to expect. How would we be treated? Fascinating! 33 Beer is 333 Beer now. AFVN is a communist propaganda outlet--no Yanks allowed. We ate wild boar on the roof of the Rex Hotel. Charley Cong was our taximan. Bazaar! Anyway, you get the point: I recommend a trip to Vietnam.

Taylor and I have backed off on the rat-race in Manhattan for a while now; For almost ten years I've been working as a silversmith in my studio at home and Taylor has been working in a children's garden with Head Start.