70
FIRSTPERSON
THEMAN,THEMYTH,
THELEGEND
MydadwassomethingofanAmerican
hero.HisfirstexperienceofAsia
wasasayoungarmysergeant in the
junglesofVietnamduring theTet
Offensiveof1968.Afterwitnessing,
inflictingandsurvivingunspeakable
horrors—heneveroncespokeof them
—hewasawardedaBronzeStar for
heroicservice incombat.Whenhis
Vietnamese tourofdutywascomplete,
heretreated into themountainsof
north-easternThailand.
Uponreturning to theUnitedStates,
hewasrecruitedby theCIAand
spent thenext30years,halfof them
overseas,workingundercover.Hewas
amanofgreat intellectbut fewwords,
whichsuited theprofessionperfectly.
Hewasequalpartsengineerand
artist: ourspareroomwascluttered
withmotherboardsandscrewdrivers,
paintbrushesandsheetmusic.His
officewasa treasure troveofwig
samplesand fakepassports.
My father’sbookshelveswere lined
with foreign-languagedictionaries,
theirpagesdog-earedand their
marginsnote-filled fromyearsofstudy.
HehelpedcorrectmyFrenchessays
duringuniversity, even thoughhe
hadnotcrackedaFrench textbook
sincehighschool. In thedaysbefore
email,hecouldoftenbe foundathis
deskdrafting letters to friends in
fluentDutch,ThaiorSpanish.
Everyeveninghewouldsethis
leatherbriefcasedownnear the
frontdoor.Onesideof thecase
wascoveredwithstamps from
exoticportsofcall likeKatmandu,
TimbuktuandKualaLumpur. I
enviedhisadventuresanddreamt
aboutsomedayhavingmyown.
Iwas living inLondonwhenmy
dadcalled tosayhe’dbeendiagnosed
withanaggressive, late-stagecancer.
Iflew to theUS inNovember2008 to
seehim.Hewas insuchgreathealth
otherwise that Ineverdoubtedhe
wouldbeattheodds;hehadcompleted
hisfifthCamino (orpilgrimage) to
SantiagodeCompostela inSpain the
previousspring.Whenhedropped
meat theairport,weembracedand
said, “SeeyouatChristmas”.Two
weeks laterhewasgone.
From left:TheJoyce
family—Maya,Alan,
ArwenandmomMargie
—visitingMaeHongSon
innorth-westernThailand
in 1988; inanorchid
house inBangkok in 1985
