4/12/2019: What Is A "Spear Carrier"?

My VN memoir is entitled, “A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam.” What do I mean by “Spear Carrier”? He’s someone who has a place on stage in a big production, but way in the back. He’s just there to fill out the cast; he has no lines in the drama. That’s how I felt in country, pretty much all the time. I suspect most of you did too.
Here’s an example of what I mean: the two photos are of a big ceremony in Lam Dong Province, 1970, handing over motorized cultivators to Vietnamese farmers. The American in the first photo congratulating a lucky farmer is none other than William Colby, then the DEPCORDS (Gen. Abrams’ Deputy for CORDS), in charge of the entire Pacification Program in Viet Nam, and later Director of the CIA. The second photo is of the same ceremony, with me in the left rear trying to look inconspicuous, as I had no part to play, nor lines to utter.
I don’t remember who took the photos.