Vietgone

In Amarillo, Texas, while Nhan makes out with Flower Girl, Quang talks with Hippie Dude. They’re all high, and when Quang apologizes that Nhan is making out with Flower Girl, Hippie Dude says she isn’t his girlfriend but his wife and that they practice free love. He then apologizes to Quang for the US involvement in Vietnam, saying that he protested the war. He tells Quang, “You’re welcome” (58). Quang feels offended and angered by Hippie Dude’s comments, telling him that he doesn’t understand. When Hippie Dude says he lost a brother in the war and understands Quang’s pain, Quang says he has no idea. Quang begins singing to the cue of “Lost a Brother” about the differences between disagreeing with a war and actually fighting one. He sings about losing his family and his country and about how fighting a war with words and theory isn’t experiencing real violence.

At Fort Chaffee, Quang and Tong sit in bed after sex. When Quang says that they made love, Tong questions whether he even knows her name. He can’t prove that he does. She tells him that what they shared was merely emotional release.