Begonia '68 Chapter I - For What It's Worth

Begonia '68 Chapter I, titled "For What It's Worth" is the first instalment of the Begonia '68 comic series, originally released on March 24th 2022, by Vanguard Studios. It is 15 pages long, and was the first piece of Begonia '68 media released.

### Spoiler-free blurb

*"TV & paranoia make this war seem like a chaotic cesspool all of the time. While I'm sure that's true, I'm quite happy ticking down my tour in this lazy battalion. Day by day though, I feel something has been brewing. All I hope is that I'm not caught in the middle of this shit that's about to go down."*

-CJ's dairy entry on the morning of the chapter's events.

### Synopsis (spoilers)

The comic opens with a monologue by Claude Jeremy (CJ's WW2 veteran father) with him questioning the lessons that his war has taught him and why it continues to plague the newer generations. The opening panels show's CJ firing a shot from his M14 at a rabbit in a field from a bush on the edge of the jungle. after. CJ and Kiyashhi go to retrieve the rabbit, while talking about the lack of action they have experienced so far in Vietnam. During their walk the two freeze when they hear a loud rumbling and a series of explosions and gunshots coming from their base in the jungle. They run back to base to find it completely vacant. They split up to search for clues in the wounded base. They discuss who could be to blame for the attack, with them speculating the Russians present in Vietnam could be responsible. CJ searches the Inventory Building when Fritz appears behind CJ and puts him in a headlock. CJ calmly notices him and let's Fritz know it's him. Kiyasshi enters and the three go to the base command centre with Fritz where the entire battalion is. The NCO's of Begonia discuss the origin of the attack and the details of the counter-attack. CJ and Kiyasshi are assigned to Kingsley's squad due to their previous sergeant, Piette, being the only casualty of the attack. Fritz, CJ and Kiyasshi board a Huey and take off to Smithin Town, which is the rendezvous point for the counter-attack force. The three talk about their weapons, when CJ notices Kiyasshi is visibly disturbed. Kiyasshi explains his shock at the suddenness of Piette's death. CJ comforts him, telling him that they'll "make it through this". The helicopter begins the final approach to Smithin Town when it is hit in the tail from an RPG rocket. The Huey crashes in a tree. The two pilots are dead and Fritz says that at least they're not being shot at. As soon as he finishes his sentence a bullet ricochets off of his helmet and the three spot a squad of enemy Vietcong charging across the stream at them. Kiyasshi and Fritz fire at the approaching Vietcong as the helicopter groans and creaks in the tree, as CJ states that it will not hold for long. Then a grenade thrown from a Vietcong fighter explodes in the air in front of the helicopter just as it rolls to the side, causing the three to fall into the bushes below avoiding the blast. They briefly celebrate their survival when a distress call from Kingsley comes over the radio that fell from the helicopter. Fritz decides they should all go assist Kingsley and they move through the jungle to a position overlooking Smithin Town. Fritz throws a smoke grenade to cover their entrance and the three slide down the slope into the battle. CJ makes a dash for the barricade where Kingsley and Shoestring are as Kiyasshi gives him covering fire. A Vietcong charges at CJ with a bayonet and Kiyasshi saves him by tackling the fighter to the ground. After a struggle the Vietcong gets on top of Kiyasshi and unsheathes a machete to kill him. Kiyasshi grabs his combat knife that was in his helmet on the ground and stabs the fighter in the throat, killing him. Kiyasshi goes into emotional shock and has a traumatic flashback to 11 years earlier, where him and CJ are working on their treehouse in the woods together. Kiyasshi spots a Pukeko bird in the distance, and the two set off with a rifle to hunt them. CJ brings up the possibility of giving the Pukeko an unnecessarily painful death due to the low calibre, but Kiyasshi disregards these worries. Kiyasshi fires a shot which hits the bird's leg which leaves it immobilised and screeching in pain. The boys panic on what to do, with Kiyasshi eventually raising a rock and crushing the bird's skull, making it the first time he claims a life. The comic closes with another monologue by CJ's father, about the nature of killing in war, and Kiyasshi looking at his bloody hands and hallucinating about his own death.

### Production

Work on the comic officially began on the 1st of December 2021, after only a few weeks of the concept phase. The first few panels were drawn in ballpoint pen, and the rest was illustrated in straight ink pens with no pencilling. The original cover featured a single helicopter flying through a sunset with a backdrop of mountains, but was replaced with a cover depicting the helmets of CJ, Kiyasshi and Fritz on a bench with Kiyasshi's FP-45 Liberator, a pack of Grey Tortoise Cigarettes, two rounds of .308 and CJ's smiley face pin also adorning the table top. Being the first Begonia, the comic's art quality is the lowest of all of the future instalments and there are a few historical inaccuracies, typos and inconsistencies with the continuity of the future chapters.

### Trivia/Easter eggs

-In the scene where Fritz, Kiyasshi and CJ are being shot at in the helicopter, Fritz is firing at them with his Luger P08, a German second world war era pistol.

-After CJ makes a run for the cover with Kingsley and Shoestring, he reloads his M14 after only firing a single shot.

-In the flashback sequence, CJ is referred to by his real name, Carmen.

-Fritz's rifle, Petra, is only fired once when the trio are sliding down the slope into Smithin Town. He does not hit anything.

-The RPG that shot down the trio's helicopter was anachronistically an RPG-7 firing a PG-7V instead of the period correct RPG-2 /B40 firing a PG-2 rocket.

-The Vietcong that Kiyasshi kills is actually Tam from Begonia Chapter 0.

-CJ incorrectly states he attained Marcy on Parris island. This is incorrect as CJ did not receive USMC training, instead being trained as a member of the NZDF in New Zealand.

-The radio on which Kingsley's distress call is heard is incorrectly depicted as a hodge podge of period radios instead of an appropriate AN/PRC 76 manpack radio.