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Aplo Lebn-Number One

By Randy Ludacer

The morning of July 20, 1969 in Saigon was like most other summer mornings, hot and steamy. Traffic was already beginning to snarl, cycles and little blue and yellow Renault taxicabs competing for space as young girls clad in the inevitable Ao Dai maneuvered their Honda motor scooters in and out of traffic,defying traffic laws and common sense. The 716th MP's were on patrol, causally seeing nothing while taking in everything with a glance. Pedestrians crowded around pushcart vendors selling soup chinoise and a local variety of a hero sandwich, all before 8 AM. In short, a normal day.

But there was a buzz in the air as many Vietnamese approached Americans, smiling and with a nod said "Aplo Lebn, number one." Unable to decipher this ambiguous greeting most round eyes simply said, "Caam Ung" Vietnamese for thank you. The repetition of this strange greeting became baffling until a friend said "It's about the astronauts, their saying "Apollo Eleven, Number One." High approval in Vietnamese argot. It was the day Armstrong walked on the moon and for that day the Vietnamese held all Americans in awe, viewed them with wonder. Temporarily, at least, all other Vietnamese-American concerns were held in abeyance while they marveled at the people who had actually reached and walked on the moon.

Vietnamese folklore and legends abound with stories about the moon. There is even a moon festival where little rice cakes called moon cakes are given to children. It's celebrated throughout the country. One of the persistent tales is about a boy, Cuoi, who flew to the moon on a banyan tree. Another about a benign rabbit who lived there but was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. One told of a prince who flew to the moon on the back of a butterfly.

Make no mistake, in Vietnam the moon was big stuff and now the Americans were walking on it. Aplo Lebn, number one! "Choi oy!"

Randy Ludacer is a retired attorney living in Lake Placid. He previously served as Legal Advisor for the US AID Mission in Vietnam and as County Attorney in Monroe County,FL.