The
following conversation with Joy Wilkerson began with her email to the
postmaster at Milspeak.org. Today, January 10, 2009, I checked that folder and
discovered this email:
1/03/09 @ 1923
Dear Sir,
One of my Ret. Vietnam many friends Marine Ted Corbet
forwarded your email to me Joy Wilkerson, www.joywilkerson.com <http://www.joywilkerson.com> .
Are you aware of our Virtual Vietnam Archive, University of Texas Tech,
Lubbock, Texas, Director is Steve Maxner?
I have been
totally involved with the Vietnam Veteran since 1962. I was receiving 4000
letters per day.
I put up my
website so that the Vietnam Veterans could find me and they are still doing it.
I reside in San Diego, California.
I'm also an honorary member of the Marine Corp League in San Diego.
I will pass your email to Ted on to other Vietnam Vets.
Sincerely
Joy Wilkerson.
I was
embarrassed that JoyÕs email had sat long untended and answered as soon as I
checked her website. Plus IÕd never heard of Texas TechÕs Vietnam Virtual
Archive (which I later learned holds Ms. WilkersonÕs memorabilia and is a
wonderful resource for veterans and writers.) After seeing Ms. WilkersonÕs
website, I was really embarrassed. I hoped adding my rank to the email would
help to explain somethingÉanything. I hoped Joy would answer. My reply:
1/10/09 @ 1349
Joy,
Would you like me to post a link at Milspeak Memo to the archive? It would be
an honor to do so.
Sincerely,
Sally Drumm, GySgt, USMC. Ret
Developer and Leader of Milspeak Creative Writing Seminars
I called Joy
and we talked. This amazing woman has accomplished more than I can imagine ever
doing! She told me an account of being kidnapped off the stage in Vietnam
simply because Navy Seals wanted to outdo her bodyguard. I decided to buy her
book – who wouldnÕt want to after learning a smidgen of her story! But
the link was dead! I decide to let her know about the link. Our email
conversation following the call lasted until evening.
1/10/09 @ 1414
Joy,
I just tried to click on the link to buy your book, but the link is dead. Would
you like to have this repaired before I post a link on Milspeak Memo?
I hope youÕll consider sending a short excerpt from your book to post at
Milspeak Memo. The Milspeak program website is http://www.milspeak.org
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Memo link to see
what the ezine looks like.
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 1510
Dear Sally I
emailed Steve Maxner, Director of the Virtual Vietnam
Archive, University of Texas Tech.Lubbock Texas that
he may hear from you.
Also I
emailed my good friend Ret Captain Navy Seal who resides in one of the
Carolina's. His impressive work for and with the Vietnam Vets is also on the
web. He is the one who kidnapped me off the stage in the Mekong Delta April
1967. His current goal is going after the Vietnam Waunabee's
who never was in the service.
I wanted to tell you, on the cover of my book "Bring Joy To Vietnam"
where I'm standing next to a jeep with some soldiers from the Big Red One, who
upon my departure were killed by beheading, their bodies were sent home after,
their heads were put back with wax. Their families were never told. One of the
Navy Seals wrote a chapter, I put in my book that I found on the web about how
badly I sang.
I informed
all of my Vietnam Pen Pals that I could not sing. They said they didn't care if
I sounded like Mickey Mouse.
I found out
after my return to the USA and was auditioning for a show at NBC Burbank, that
my music had all been written in an incorrect key. The man writing my parodies
was so busily trying to get fresh with me, that I ran out of the studio. It was
the "Hollywood Overseer's CommitteeĶ who finally had to concede and send
me to Vietnam.
Sincerely
Joy Wilkerson
1/10/09 @ 1525
I wish we
had email when I was answering my 400 thousand letters a day from the my
Vietnam pen pals on my royal portable typewriter, which is now in the Vietnam
Archive,
Sincerely Joy Wilkerson
1/10/09 @ 1538
On the cover
of my book "Bring Joy To Vietnam," I'm standing next to a jeep with
some soldiers from the Big Red One, who upon my departure were
killed by beheading. Their bodies were sent home after. Their heads were put
back with wax. Their families were never told.
One of the Navy Seals wrote a chapter, I put in my book, that
I found on the web about how badly I sang.
I informed all of my Vietnam Pen Pals that I could not sing. They said they
didn't care if I sounded like MIckey Mouse.
I found out after my return to the USA and was auditioning for a show at NBC
Burbank, that my music had all been written in an incorrect key. The man
writing my parodies was so busily trying to get fresh with me, that I ran out
of the studio. It was the "Hollywood Overseer's CommitteeĶ who finally had
to concede and send me to Vietnam.
Joy,
I edited what you sent in the last email. It appears above. Would you like to
add anymore to this? I could then add it to Milspeak Memo. Maybe you could add
something about why you wrote your book and that you are now writing about your
racing career.
I sent Steve an email.
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 1539 (From Sally)
Did you
answer every one by hand? My gosh – you are
amazing!
1/10/09 @ 1603
Why I wrote
my book "Bring Joy To Vietnam"? In 1969 I tried to return to Vietnam
and ran up against the" Powers That Be" in Hollywood and now as a
single mother I had to get to work on supporting my three children, Craig,
Candice and Kimberly who of course are all grown. My daughter Candice Carter is
now a full professor at the University of North Florida. She is my hippy gone yuppie. She is one of the flower children against
all wars. We just agree to disagree. I spent my entire inheritance from my
aunt, 1962 to 1969 on communicating with my Vietnam Pen Pals who I will always
dearly love. I started my website so that "My Guys" could always find
me.
Sally I was born
August 4 1930. I told my mother at age four that I wanted to adopt all the
orphans of the world.
Not
knowing at that time that it would be the entire military of the Vietnam War. When you read my book you will more
fully understand. Now with my auto racing I crashed a wall June 12, 1977 in New
Jersey breaking my fifth vertebrae.
Last April that injury reared its ugly head and I have seen "Mucho"
doctors. All now appears to be OK. Because everybody at all
of these appointments were so highly interested in hearing about my being one
of the first three female racers? I committed to put my story in a book.
"Lets Go Racing." I only have about 30 pages of a rough draft so far.
I wrote a column for a race paper, at the time, and that editor was kind enough
to edit it for me. All of my Vietnam and Auto racing memorabilia is in the
Virtual Vietnam Archive.
Sincerely
Joy
1/10/09 @ 1614
Joy,
HereÕs the Milspeak Memo page with your link posted: http://www.milspeak.org/MM%20VI.htm
If youÕd like to add anything, please send. I will gladly format
your work and post anything youÕd like.
Your work is
inspiring!
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 1622
Sally I
typed all my letters to my Pen Pals, along with taking care of my three
children. When you read my book you will see that it started when I was in the
hospital for having my appendix out. I saw a Col Andersen with the 101st
Airborne trying to take some hill in Vietnam. My heart went out to the men so
when I got home I sent a letter with about 4 signed pictures to the 101st
Airborne. In two weeks I received an answer from the Big Red One wanting some
pictures too. After that my picture was in the "Stars and Stripes"
for a few years. That is when I attracted all of the military to my mailbox. At
first the letters went to my agent Mr. Louis Shurr's
office he was also Bob Hope's agent. Louis was so over whelmed with the amount
of mail, that he asked the Beverly Hills Post Office to send my mail directly
to me. If you look at my videos you will know more about this era. My mailman
would show up and say where do you want me to put these mailbags?
I read every
letter and marked on them if they were a first time or second time around. ?
Every first time around I answered that day I had to buy a file cabinet, I
started writing the letter of the week and had a printing company
put it on pink paper with hearts. I took a special effort at helping the boys
who were depressed.
For the most
part these new friends of mine were interested in what was the clothes style,
music etc. All requested I come to Vietnam; I answered NO Problem I will come.
Boy did I hit a road block.!! My friends were not
going to lose
the war of "Bring Joy To Vietnam. ? Some
newspapers were saying ŌIf Joy doesn't get sent to
Vietnam all of Hollywood would be pulled across the sea.Ķ All the Hollywood
lechers were running for cover. Parents of these boys when they called
Hollywood were told that I was black balled.
Now
Hollywood hadn't taken into consideration that these boys had parents in
powerful jobs, such at congress, owners of newspapers. etc.
Well Sally
if you read my book and look at my videos you will have a better vision of what
it was like.
Sincerely
Joy
1/10/09 @ 1640
Joy,
What a story!
IÕd love to read your work, but the link to buy it doesnÕt work on your
website! I couldnÕt find any videos there, either!
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 1900
Sally I took a
lunch break but now I'm back, I checked my web site the videos are there, Just
click on the about Joy link. That's where the videos are plus info about my
auto racing. I emailed Jack Adams of Authorhouse and
asked
why their link was down. ?
In April of 1975
when we pulled out of Vietnam I was in Tokyo for show biz reasons. I received a
call at my hotel asking if I would go see the Marine pilots who had just landed
their fighter plans, at the far end of Japan. I said of course IÕd love to. I
flew for about 6 hours in a Navy Plane with our guys not speaking Japanese, but
the air traffic controllers only spoke Japanese. Boy was that a trip figuring
out where we were in the sky.
To this day my
Vietnam Vets while visiting the Vietnam Wall still cry because they were
ordered to just leave the Vietnam people at the prey of the VC charley.
Sally I know
there are many sites that say they can order my book.
Id say best thing
is to just call up Authorhouse yourself and ask for
either the book or DVD be sent to you.
Bob Hope got me
started in visiting the military folks. One day on the set of his show that I
was working on he said to Johnny Grant, Take Joy on your USO shows, Johnny
Grant died this past year THANK GOODNESS!!
Johnny Grant only
wanted to take actress's that would show up where he lived, free at the
Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood
Believe me that is something that would never happen with me. Well one day I
was on a bus with Johnny Grant and other entertainers. I was scheduled to do an
act with him. While on stage Johnny says "this is Joy Wilkerson and do
what you do Joy" then he walked off stage. Martha RayÕs guitarist Earl
could see what was happening so he started to play the song "I'm just a
girl who can't say no I'm in a terrible fix" and he was saying the words
behind me.
This turned out
to be the first one of my 124 titles, from the military, "Miss USS Kearsarge." My picture was shown in their paper, plus
I was invited to lunch with the crew. The next week I visited our guys in the
Long Beach Naval Hospital. Johnny Grant called me at home, and said, ŌStop
writing the boys Joy you aren't going any where.Ķ ?
The rest is history I did Ônot stop writing toÕ my guys the, Vietnam Pen Pals.Ķ
Jack Gates wrote
a very complimentary note, which is on the cover of my book. Jack has now been
after me to write about my Hollywood experiences along with my auto racing. Now
all but Regis Philbin and Bob Barker are all on the
other side. Therefore, I could write about them but with respect to them, I
havenÕt.
In March of 1979
I married Dwayne C Ratliff. He died in 1998 of pneumonia. Dwayne was the
network censor for 25 years at NBC Burbank, Ca, where we met. Dwayne danced in
"Singing In the Rain" and was the understudy, as a dancer for Donald
O'Connor, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly. Dwayne contracted polio in 1956
and couldn't dance again. Donald O'Connor would never do his "Me and My
Shadow routine again. This was a dance he and my husband had worked out. I
reside in San Diego 5 miles North of the Miramar Marine Station. I have Marine
stickers all over my car. I'm an Honorary Marine League member,
My daughter Candy is a contributor and Editor of some of the "Chicken Soup
for the Soul" books. Sally I was born the Chinese year of the Horse in
Detroit, Mich when were you born?
Anything I write
to you feel free to print it.
Sincerely
Joy Wilkerson
1/10/09 @ 2052
Joy,
I think IÕm a dog. Born July 15, 1958 in Gary, Indiana.
Enlisted in 1977. Wild hippie chick
with dead American dream. So much has been lost, so much gained. IÕve
read Tarot and palms since I was a child. This helped me understand literature
when I began college in 2001. Pete and I live on a small island. HeÕs a
carpenter and built our house on Lucy Point Creek. Land was his motherÕs. We
have a wetland behind us. It was full of trash when we cleaned it. Beautiful now – owls, green herons, deer, lots of raccoons.
Jets from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort circle overhead.
Eagles, too. Rifle fire from Parris Island drifts
across the marsh. We call it the Coosaw triangle.
YouÕre generous to say I can post anything youÕve written to me. IÕll post some
of the last email you sent. The Vietnam Veterans who visit the site will be
brought to their knees in hearing from you. Your life sounds so complex, so
giving – youÕve touched so many lives, and so many have touched yours.
ItÕs been a very strange series of coincidences that brought Milspeak to life.
That chain led to your story. Milspeak began because I felt undeserving of my
disability rating and I saw a need I could fill with my abilities. I have no
idea where its going. I love what I do and I love
seeing so many people being brought together through writing. One Milspeak
writer was estranged from her sister for a long time. Her sister saw StacyÕs
ŌBright and Pressed,Ķ read it, and contacted her. Our publisher, Kevin, found
our anthologyÕs cover photo and sent it to me, he knowing only that a soldierÕs
sister had taken the photo. When Kevin found Crystal, she gave us permission to
use the photo and said that her brother had recently been killed in an auto
accident. ŌMonkey Mountain,Ķ FredÕs piece for MCWS 8, created a furor. Dick
Reynolds wanted to post his piece about the shootout on Monkey Mountain –
thereÕs a map in FredÕs piece. I couldnÕt do that beside works of those that spend
5 weeks in workshop taking a piece from idea to story. Solution was to create
an underground gorilla Internet magazine for military people. They have so much
to say and are allowed so little room to move around in the public arena.
Milspeak Memo seemed a good name for a short little thing.
I will find the link to your book and post it with the other links in your
entry on MM. I will also create a document with your emails. It will be a Hello
to those who are missing you. As soon as I create the post, I will email a link
for you to check the post. If youÕd like any changes made, I will do so. When
the Milspeak anthology is published in July, if it makes any royalties,
Milspeak will grow. The anthology is part memoir and gives the workshop story.
The table of contents will look like the one of The Thousand Nights and One
Night. Atsuro Riley has contributed his poem, ŌHutchĶ
to serve has the frontispiece. My oldest friend, whom I met in 1983 when we
were stationed together, is providing a short poem for the endpiece.
She served 6 years in the Corps, then nine years in the Cistercian order. She
works at the local monkey farm, now, and lives in a camper on 400 acres near
me. The poem was written in 7th grade. ItÕs about trees. A third of royalties
from the book are going to the ChaplainÕs Helping Hands Fund.
The hand is a motif in my life.
You represent exactly the woman IÕve always strived to become. That Milspeak
brought me to know you is but one of its many charms.
IÕve never thought of Milspeak as mine. It was always collaboration, a hybrid
of writing program and fellowship. Milspeak belongs to the military family and
you are surely one of its deacons. I am so pleased to know you.
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 2150
Sally yes
you were born the Chinese year of the Dog. I know because my youngest child
Kimberly was born June 26
1958. My three children are Craig is a Tiger and Candice is a snake. When I was
with the Marine fighter pilots
in Japan I had my auto racing film with me. Boy did I feel inferior to their
abilities. They said No Problem we don't know how to ride a motorcycle. I had
been riding motorcycles across from the Hollywood Bowl with the police, while
teaching others how to ride, Then these Marine fighter
pilots said would you like to go parachute out of a plane?
I said yes but their commanding officer jinxed that idea
Sincerely Joy
1/10/09 @ 2109
Joy, IÕm working
on formatting our emails. IÕll post it as a conversation. People will love
hearing how you are!
IÕve attached the editorÕs note for the anthology. It explains a lot about me.
My weapons controller callsign was Pirate. I was the first enlisted woman
dogfight controller. Fought every day for 20 years. Still fighting but more
peaceful like. You know what I mean, IÕm certain.
I used to run mini-bikes into trees when I was a kid. My uncle built trikes. My grandpa owned a mechanics shop. I went to sleep
at night with a landfill outside my bedroom window and the racetrack roaring
through the night. My step-dad worked for my grandpa until shop closed at his
retirement. Don worked dragsters when he was young. Every car IÕve owned has
had a Lady Luck sticker on it. If I ever would have gotten a tattoo, it would
have been her. Pete has a bike. I canÕt ride. Never could – thatÕs why I
always ran into trees.
Sincerely,
Sally
1/10/09 @ 2238
My
goodness we have become close buddies in just one day. I'm
going to go to bed now and watch television.
Tomorrow is the big football day in San Diego, because the Chargers are playing
the Steelers in cold Pennsylvania
I
heard from Steve Maxner and he thanked me for
whatever you sent him in your email.
You
are far ahead of me in computer literacy. How I learned to ride a motorcycle
was I attended a motto cross at
the Riverside Raceway. One kind young man taught me by having me go over and
over again from one gear to another. Then we would add another gear one at time
and finally I got my head to wrap around it and voile I could ride the
motorcycle. The tough thing is to go slow and I mean SLOW while balancing on
the bike. Anybody can go fast but the trick is to learn to go slow. Tomorrow I
will look up your astrological chart, while I'm watching the football game.
I
googled my husband Dwayne C. Ratliff and found him having danced in a film
called "I don't Care Girl" with Mitzi Gaynor.
I must say you being a Marine means your far from being a WIMP.
Good night
Joy
1/10/09
@ 2257
Joy,
I do feel we have become friends. IÕve also found someone to look up to. Tomorrow
IÕm finishing up preparations for class on Monday. I have four courses to teach
this semester. IÕll probably have 100 students.
Good night.
Sincerely,
Sally