Garrison Tales from Tonquin: An American's Stories of the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam in the 1890sThe thought of enlisting in the French Foreign Legion held a tantalizing allure for young nineteenth century American boys in search of adventure. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, James O'Neill enlisted in the legion in 1887, at the age of twenty seven. In 1890, deployed to Tonquin in French Indochina (more familiar today as Tonkin, Vietnam), O'Neill faced tropical heat, infectious disease, and sudden death. Like his contemporary Stephen Crane,