Who would be more heartbroken: The soldier's girlfriend or his mother?

Vietnam

THERE IS NOTHING more heart breaking than a soldier receiving a letter from a special girl back home who decided not to wait. It is extremely rare for a soldier to send a Dear Jane because he found someone else to love while serving in a combat zone, but it did happen. I know of at least one case. 

I'm not writing about geographical bachelors -- those who cheat on their wives because they are away from home. That happens all too frequently. Many married officers of my acquaintance openly bragged of conquests while on R&R. Some could not wait for their scheduled week in some exotic locale - Bangkok, Hong Kong, Australia - where their spouses could not join them, and sought the beds of local whores.

No, this tale involves an unmarried enlisted man under my command who was an honest bachelor. He fell in love in Thailand. But, wait. Let me back up a little. He had a girlfriend back home. She seemed inclined to take the relationship to the next level, even sending him a picture she had taken of herself, bare-breasted, in the bathroom, with a Polaroid camera. By the expression on her face, she wasn't too sure of what she was doing, and reaching across to the sink where she had propped up her camera to trip the shutter caused her breasts to sag unflatteringly. Still, her intentions were good, I suppose. He kept the picture on his desk where our division chief, a major spotted it as he wandered through looking for a snack. Picking the photo off his desk, he held it at every angle and proclaimed it to be an interesting study in feminine anatomy.

Still, the young man remained captive to her allure until he visited Bangkok, Thailand on R&R (Rest and Recuperation). There he fell under the spell of a professional. This young lady had one thing that the girl back home had lacked; a night in bed with our hero. It was his first.

I don't remember his name, and that's probably for the best. I can't imagine he would be happy being reminded of the consequences of his experience. 

He returned to the command in Vietnam with dreams of returning to Thailand after completing his enlistment in the Army. He kept up a steady stream of correspondence with his new paramour, and she replied in kind, signing her letters, not with her name, but rather, with her “license number.” I remember overhearing one of his friends kidding him; “3895?” Imagine if you introduce her to your family and your father says, “Ah yes, I know your mother well. 827.”

The ribbing continued for several weeks until another enlisted man in my command took R&R in Bangkok. He carried the prostitutes “number” with him. She had written our hero to have his friends “look her up” and she would see that they enjoyed themselves in Thailand. Well, this friend returned to report having a most excellent time – with her! That broke his heart.

I can't say for sure, but I don't think he ever went back...