From May 7 to May 21,2006, I with my 24 year old son
Luke, and nine other members of a customized tour organized
by Military Tours Inc. visited Viet Nam (VN). It had been 37
years and 17 days since my last visit compliments of the US
Army. The big difference was that my first trip was for 12
months as a U.S. Army soldier and this one was for two weeks
as a friendly tourist. This visit, like the first one, was
going to be a trip into the unknown. I don't think anybody
except the tour guides knew what to expect, so everyday was
a new adventure for me. The tour guides were John Powell and
Ed Garr. John Powell AKA JP, Cavalier 22 or Kung Powell,
served in VN with our very own Charlie Troop 1/9 Air Cav
Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division as a Scout and later a Cobra
pilot in 68/69. Ed Garr is a 74 year old crusty but lovable
ex-Marine who had two Combat VN tours with the US Marine
Corp. (That's right Garr, clutch butt lovable) The tour was
specifically tailored by JP to visit the 1st Cav Division
Area of Operations (AO) in I, II Corps in the North and the
III Corps area in the South around Saigon. To accomplish
this we spent the first week in the Military III Corps area
and the second week in and around I & II Corps. Tour
participants included seven 1st Cavalry veterans or honorary
Cav members, three veterans of the US Marine Corp and one US
ARMY Artillery type that had two combat tours in VN.
Participants were myself ('69-70), Luke, Dave Keel ('68-69,
72), wife Renee, Julie Kink in memory of her Brother David
KIA 69, Jeanie Anderson in memory of her father John (KIA
'69), and Medal of Honor recipient James (Mike) M.
Sprayberry ('67 - '68). Mike served with D Company 5th
Battalion 7th Cavalry and the rest of us were with C Troop
1/9. The Marines were Dick Walker, who landed with the
Marines in '65 and set up an artillery position west of Da
Nang, Tony Homes, who was badly wounded northwest of Da Nang
in 69 and Terry Funk who was a communications technician in
67. Last but far from least we had Bob. Bob Weekly was a
retired Army Colonel who served two tours in VN as an
Artillery Commander. He was in III corps in his first tour
(66) and in I & II corps with the 101st Airmobile
Division during his second tour (72). This diversity of
experience from different in-country periods, fighting units
and areas allowed us a wider perspective of what was going
on in different places and time. It was something I had not
expected but believe it really enhanced the trip. I had mixed emotions going and leaving Viet Nam on both
my tours. In both cases I was ready to come home because I
missed my family and friends but I would miss certain
aspects of being in VN. My first time was during a dangerous
period, but it was interspaced with fun times, interesting
times, and some difficult times. I made some good friends,
and the memory of that tour is burned into my brain. Leaving
VN the first time was a milestone event I was looking
forward to experience. The end of a Combat VN tour meant
that you had lived through a short period in your life where
the chances of dying on any given day during your 365 day SE
Asia excursion were very high. My own personal feeling was
that I had pushed my luck and it was time for me to leave
but I knew I was going to miss the action, the flying and
the guys The second time I left was also an emotional time
for me but not as traumatic. I made some great friends, the
trip was a fabulous experience and I saw VN from a totally
new perspective. In both cases I can say in all honesty that I looked
forward to my trip. My first trip I really can't say I was
really to go with the same enthusiasm I did the second time
but I was still looking forward to a year of flying
helicopters. Understandability my anxiety level was petty
high, but I wasn't overly worried. For example, with my
first trip I wondered where I was going to be send, how bad
it really was, how was I going to react when the bullets
starting flying, was I up to the task? All the normal
concerns that a young man would have before he is put into a
position where he might be judged pretty harshly by his new
combat buddies and by himself. This time I had different
concerns. For example, am I bringing enough underwear, do I
need to label all my medicines so that the VN customs folks
don't confiscate something thinking it is dope, am I
bringing enough cash, do I have enough bug spray or
sunscreen, have I packed enough trail mix, will I be able to
wash my clothes, should I bring an extra roll of toilet
paper? All the things an older traveler worries about,
because you don't want to be embarrassed in front of your
fellow more seasoned travelers. But in both cases I had a
support group I could fall back on. For the first trip I had
about 10 guys I went through flight school with who joined
up with me in San Francisco and flew over with me. Since we
were all facing the same thing we gave each other
confidence. Plus I knew some guys that were already in
country and they had relayed back their experience. That was
a big help and really lowered my anxiety level. This time I
had Luke. He is year older than I was the first time I
toured VN. But for him the experience was not going to be a
combat one, he was going for the fun and enjoyment of
visiting a far-away exotic country. He wasn't worried one
bit. We both didn't know what to expect but so what, we were
going to have a good time! My goal for my first tour was to get a lot of flying
time, keep a low profile, keep out of harm's way as much as
possible, not get killed, and of course did I say, get a lot
of flying time. In fact, I was a little worried that Nixon
was going to live up to his election promises and end the
war before I got there therefore denying me the thrill of
flying those fantastic whirly-bird machines. My goal for the second tour was just to revisit the old
Area of Operation (AO). I didn't have any other desire but
to go back and see what the place that had captured a year
of my life looked like after almost forty years. I never had
the desire to go back until now because I had been to busy.
Now I had the opportunity, the time and the curiosity to see
what the old stomping grounds looked like. What had changed
or is it the same? I am not going to go into the flight or the time we had
in LA prior to our flight over. I think you have all heard
or you can remember how long it takes to get to VN. But, in
case you have killed off those brain cells that held that
memory, it still takes a long time. The difference is, this
time the plane was bigger and except for our tour companions
the plane was full of Asians. Also this time around
different thoughts bounced around my brain. For example, how
can these planes stay in the air so long, after all this
sitting will my butt regain feeling, how can Powell sleep
like that, how do those Korean stewardesses keep their
scarves so straight, is a little Asian guy flying this
plane? The first time I just thought about things like: why
didn't I bring four bottles of Johnny Walker Red instead of
one, will they give me an M-16 as soon as we land so I can
protect myself, why are we flying to war in a commercial jet
with stewardess's (WOW), and other assorted intelligent
things? Anyway, you get the picture; it takes a long time to
get to Viet Nam. The good thing however is that like the
first time I went over, everything was pre-arranged. The
first time by the US Army and this time of course by
Military Tours. All in all the to/from parts of both trips
were pretty similar; I fly to the west coast, catch a long
boring flight to Asia, sit a lot, and sleep. After a short stop and plane change in Seoul we arrive in
Saigon or more specifically Ho Chin Min City's Ton San Nhut
Airport. As we taxi to the terminal a couple of things are
familiar. The big hanger type building that housed the 90th
replacement depot is still there along with the semi-circle
revetments lining the runway. Most were empty but there was
a Huey in one and some assorted Russian Helicopters in
others. Memories are starting to come back. The place seems
familiar. We hustled through customs and baggage and then
were met by Garr and our Vietnamese Tour Guide Thahn (Tang).
It was hot and humid but not much different from summertime
in Houston. There is still that sweet, stinky aroma in the
air that you are exposed to in a tropical location. One big
change from my first tour is that now there is air
conditioning. The only time I had air conditioning my first
tour was in a Cobra and that didn't always work. I had spent a couple of days in Saigon my first tour with
my good friend Ed McDerby. We had taken an unauthorized
recon for or a couple of days by thumbing rides on
helicopters heading south. We hung around control towers and
the guys in the tower bummed rides for us. We stayed at the
Presidential Hotel and visited a couple of assorted bars in
the Cholon District. Had a fine old time. Caught some crap
when we got back but it was worth it. I was wrongfully
accused by our CO of influencing a young hard working WOI
but I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut and not state
that the trip had been McDerby's idea. McDerby had some down
time and I was also flight inactive after having an
unfortunate engine failure in our only Charlie Model
gunship. The streets are still narrow, and the city
basically looks the same but now there are more motor
scoters and the city is active until 2 or 3 in the morning.
I don't know where all these people are going but they are
going. Another thing you notice beside the abundance of
motor scooters is the multitude of electrical lines. In the
US we have maybe four or five lines running from pole to
pole. In Saigon there must have been 50 little lines.
Pollution is a little more under control than forty years
ago. There is still some trash scattered around but the blue
smoke from the mo-peds back in 69 is gone. Now the motor
scooters are cleaner. Traffic control is also a little
better. Scooters, mini-buses and cars are flying thru the
street beeping their horn. The message is get out of the way
or die. There are some traffic lights and people so stop for
them but don't be in the way when the light changes. But
compared to my first trip it looked a little less chaotic, a
little cleaner, more organized and not as populated. The war
had pushed the population of Saigon to a level it couldn't
sustain and I think now they have that under control. The first two nights we stayed at the Hotel Caravel. It
is a beautiful Hotel near the Presidential Palace and close
to the center of town. It reminded me of a modern Five Star
hotel in the States with a Marble entry, fancy pool area and
very nice rooms. It was first class plus it had a rooftop
bar area that overlooked the city. That was cool. First day
we were real tourist. We saw the Presidential Palace and the
old US embassy and visited the VN War Museum. At night
Powell and Garr took us on a river boat restaurant ride on
the Saigon River. It was unique and fun. We also got our
first taste of street vendors. Viet Nam might be a Communist
country but the people are the most capitalistic folks you
will ever see. They are persistent to the maximum degree.
Not rude, just selling, selling, selling. They sell baseball
caps, T-Shirts, watches, flags, maps, water, whatever. Don't
waste your breath with "No Thanks" to a street vendor
because they don't accept that answer. Just ignore them and
turn away. My first tour I stayed at the 1st Cav
replacement/training facility after my initial check-in and
assignment from the 90th Replacement Depot. The 1st Cav
replacement center (1stCav RC) was in Bien Hoa and the new
replacement officers stayed in an old stucco building. The
accommodations were good even with the constant boom boom
boom boom of the outgoing artillery. The original ten from
my flight class that flew over together were now down to
four: Bill Gill, Al Ashcraft, Richard Rowell and yours
truly. Four WO1's joined us so now there were eight
helicopter pilots and a bunch of enlisted personnel awaiting
assignment to a unit in the field. During our stay at the
replacement center we were supposed to spend our day
re-learning how to fire an M-16, play with grenades, and
other assorted military training. My little irresponsible
group didn't participate in the training activities. We
slept in and then took advantage of the 1st Cav Officers
Club and some recreational facilities located close by. Most
of my memory for these first few days is kind of fuzzy
except for how they assigned us our unit. When we all
arrived at the 1st Cav RC the Officer in charge with his
senior NCO partner had the eight of us fill out a
questionnaire that, in addition to some personal data,
allowed us the opportunity to request what unit we wanted to
be assigned. The four warrants must have been exposed to a
1/9th veteran that hyped them up about flying LOH's because
they all requested the 1/9th. My bunch, me included,
requested the 227th Aviation Battalion. I just don't
remember being that aware of how the Division was organized
plus flying LOH's would violate my goal of not dying so the
1/9th was not my unit of choice. In typical Army fashion my
four got assigned to the 1/9th and the warrants got the
227th. Everyone was dismayed and disappointed but we learned
the lesson of not asking for what you want in the Army cause
you ain't gonna get it! I assume the honcho's at the
replacement center had a big laugh. The third day of our 2006 tour we packed up for our trip
North along Hwy 13. Our agenda over the next couple of days
were the Cu Chi tunnels, Lai Khe, Quon Loi, Dau Tieng, Tay
Ninh, Nui Ba Din, Dong Xai, Song Be, Nui Ba Ra, Phouc Vinh,
and LZ's DOT, CAROLINE & RITA. It was to be a 3 day 2
night exclusion with overnight stops in Tay Ninh and Dong
Xaoi. In 69 I was send direct to Phoch Vinh by C-7 Caribou
so my initial impression of the country was from 2,000 feet
plus I really didn't have any contact with the people. This
time we went everywhere by mini bus and of course viewed
everything at ground level. I flew a few times from Phouc
Vinh to Bien Hoa and other area's south but I didn't realize
or had forgotten how hilly the area was. It is lush and
green but rolling and extremely beautiful. Seeing it from
ground level gave a person a more detailed view of what the
countryside looked like. We now saw the countryside from a
Vietnamese perspective and watched the people go thru their
daily lives. The people work hard but are somewhere just
above the "poor" level. I tried to imaging the people of
Viet Nam back in 1969 going about their daily lives with the
presence of a huge foreign army roaming over the countryside
and flying all over the sky. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel that
the majority of the people were unsure of our intentions and
why we were really there. . One thing you realize traveling by bus is that the
distances between locations that we flew around was not that
great. My first trip I just didn't comprehend how short the
distance was from Saigon to the border. I really spend the
majority of my first tour either east of Phouc Vinh or north
of Song Be. I can now see how the NVA could, with no skilled
defenders in their way, race to Saigon and take over the
country in a short time. It didn't take us anytime to get to
Lai Khe. Granted it took us longer than it would have if we
had flown but it would take you longer to drive from Houston
to Waco than drive from Saigon to Tay Ninh. When you visit
Lai Kai, or Tay Ninh or stand where firebases were once
active battle areas, if you had not been there during the
war, it would be hard to imagine what it looked like 40
years ago. Understand that except for parts of the ground
where we used to spread that nasty-ass thin asphalt-like
stuff which deters any vegetation from growing everything
has grown back or been build over. Lai Khe , except for the
rubber trees, looked like a serene tropical area. But we did
get a taste of America while we were wandering around what
was left of Lai Khe. An older Vietnamese man was watching us
from the road and finally came over. Turns out he had worked
at the base as a kid shining shoes and cleaning up and he
had picked up a number of American phases, most of which I
can't add to this story because they were very colorful in a
perverse sort of way. However I really think he enjoyed
seeing Americans and it was a great fun visiting with him.
The normal Vietnamese in Saigon didn't give us a second
glance but the countryside locals paid us a lot of attention
and acted like they enjoyed seeing us. When we left the guy
really acted sorry to see us go, and following Mike
Sprayberry's lead we all gave the old boy a few bucks just
to help him out. I mention this about Sprayberry because
even though he was our Medal of Honor recipient and as such
as proved his fierceness in battle he was a very
compassionate person in his dealing's with the VN
people. I don't want to skip over the Cu Chi tunnels because the
history of that area is interesting and fascinating but now
it is set up for the tourist and to promote some distorted
historical propaganda message. For example we were subject
to a lecture on how the heroic villagers of Cu Chi built the
tunnels and lived in fear of the imperialistic puppets.
Fortunately Powell or Garr cut that presentation short but
in all honestly in was interesting to get the perspective of
the "other side". There was also a huge temple and other
monuments with the names of the 20,000 folks that died
defending that area . Historically interesting but more
interesting and a surprising aspect of this jaunt north to
me was the construction of new highways and new villages. We
had a four lane highway with esplanades all the way up to
Dau Tieng and from Dong Xoai back to Saigon. Our east/west
drives followed narrow roads that I enjoyed more because you
saw more of the countryside. A continuous ribbon of houses
and shops cluttered the scenery along the four lane
highway. Once in Tay Ninh we got our first real taste of
Vietnamese provincial life. The town was busy with trucks
and motor scooters everywhere flying down the main road. But
there were also a lot of villagers walking down the road
stacked up with goods carrying them to market. The Hotel we
stayed at was not like the Caravel in Saigon. It was clean
and nice but a little more Spartan. For example, the
bathroom didn't bother with a tub or shower curtain. There
was a shower nozzle in the wall and the water just ran off
through a drain in the floor. It did have an in-room AC and
TV if you like Vietnamese shows. I didn't really spend much time in Tay Ninh my first tour
so I really can't compare what things are like now to 37
years ago but the street in front of the Hotel used to be
the old runway. You would never have known it now; things
are changing as I say over and over in this report. Another
big change was the huge mountain of Nui Ba Din. During the
war it was a good spot for both American and NVA to occupy
for strategic reasons but now it was a religious area with a
cool bobsled like ride to the bottom. It was a blast flying
down on that ride. The stay in Tay Ninh was fun for me because it was my
first real Viet Nam " mingling with the locals" experience.
After Luke and I wandered around we ate with our group in a
small restaurant on the first floor of our Hotel. There was
only one other group in the place and that was of about 8 or
9 Vietnamese of mixed gender that stayed to themselves but
were drinking vodka and having a good old time. After dinner
we walked around the area just to check out the town. The next day we loaded up to head east to Song Be and
points NE after a side trip to the Cao Dae Temple. Cao Dae
is a Buddhist sect that prays to Budda, Confucius, Jesus
Christ, Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel
& Hardy and a host of other religious, pop culture and
historical figures. The Cao Dai icon is the all "Seeing Eye"
which they have plastered all over their pagodas. It sounds
crazy but it's true. Ngo Van Chieu who established the
religion was a movie nut. In the early 50's there were two
million members and they had an army of 25,000. It is
probably a pretty good concept cause you pray to almost
everybody so you cover all the bases. Before we loaded up JP pulled out a map and gave us an
overview of where we were going, what the 1st Cav's mission
was when it arrived in III Corps and the firebase hopping
strategy. Prepared with this knowledge we were on our way.
This little overview might not seem important to most of you
but remember we had our marines and non-combatants in our
group. In fact the Marines were interested as to how we
conducted our combat operations and after fours days of
visiting our old sites and discussions they were really
impressed as to what we did and how we did it. Anyway, off
we went and visited LZ Caroline, Dot, Rita and Bravo's
Troop's base at Quon Loi. Tony had a GPS device so we knew
where we were even if we didn't always recognize the
terrain. Let that be tip #1, if you want to find a specific
place in VN take a GPS. You might have been a great "dead
reckoner" at one time but things have changed and the maps
aren't that good.. On the ride east we traded stories of what was going on
in late 68 and 69. Powell and Keel had both been scout
pilots and had some interesting experiences. Both of them
were with C Troop when it moved down from II Corp and
started operating in III Corps. Moving the 1st Cav down to
III Corps effectively closed the Ho Chin Minh (HCM) trail
from Cambodian into VN. No other division had the
maneuverability like the 1st Cav to move fast into an area
that needed the leaks plugged. When I joined Charlie Troop
in 69 no American unit that I was aware of was covering the
area north of Song Be to the border. Therefore getting a
perspective of what had been going on before I got there
added to my appreciation of what our Airmobile Division was
capable of doing. Powell & Keel had seen their share of
trouble and were lucky to be alive in my opinion. When I got
in country Powell had moved to Guns and Keel was the
operations officer. LZ Dot was north of Tay Ninh and was set up to start
covering the HCH trail as one of he first LZ's in a long
string toward the border. Now it was in the middle of a
small village north of Tay Ninh. Except for the old traces
of asphalt you wouldn't even know it was there. But the
village was a micro-picture of all the villages in VN. The
villages concentrated along main roadways and the building
are narrow in the front but long and normally two or three
stores high. My understanding is that families lease the
land from the government and the building are build per
government specs. The first floor was open like a garage and
that was usually a business area. For example, one family in
the village sold fans, another sold watches, another sold
appliances and so etc etc. I'm not sure if the government
controls how the business should be set up or if it evolves
naturally but everyone in the village has one particular
business and I guess they sell to each other. I visited a
cell phone business at LZ Dot and I was the only customer.
Further down the street is the main food market but it
wasn't like the grocery store at home. Without refrigeration
animals were not only sold here but slaughtered as well. In
the back the stench was nasty. I could see where the bird
flu could get out of hand in such conditions. LZ Rita was a spot in the jungle. No trance of anything
U.S. or other wise. It was the same for the area around Quon Loi. All traces
of American presence has been plowed under. I recognized the
geography of Quon Loi but it was hard to imagine that
thousands of troops were here and it was busy with a lot of
helicopter traffic. Now it was a hilly wooded area with some
rubber trees but mostly quiet and empty. I had been at Quon
Loi a couple of times and I think the area we walked around
on this trip was close of where Bravo Troop lived. Sometime
early in my first tour I was given the task of investigating
a helicopter crash right off the runway. In fact one of the
pilots that died was a buddy of Bill Gill, a friend of mine
from flight school that was assigned to Bravo Troop. The
problem was it wasn't know if the helicopter was shot down
as it cleared the runway or had some other problem so I was
sent up to do an accident investigation. Turned out it was
shot down by a 50 caliber Machine Gun right off the end of
the runway. Bravo Troop's campsite was on the downward side
of a small hill and in the rubber trees. I remember it was
quite scenic. I guess I felt that way because Phoc Vinh was
more open and flat. But the highlight of my visit was having
a mortar round land about 100 or so feet from me in the
middle of day as I was out in the open visiting with Bravo
Troops Commanding Officer (CO). Fortunately no one got hurt
but the point is, the area I stood in May of 2006 looked a
lot like the area I stood at in May 1969. Now it is
peaceful, serene and beautiful but back then it was also
deadly. From Quon Loi we traveled to An Loc and had lunch. An Loc
was a pretty robust town with a lot of activity and hustle
bustle. We ate at a small little outdoor place. Normally our
lunch's were somewhere out in the countryside. We had a 7
course meal of real authentic Vietnamese food that was quite
good with warm beer or warm soda. "No water, no ice", was
Garr's refrain from day one, so that forced me to drink
beer, cause I didn't need the sugar in the warm soda's. The
food was sort of stir fried cooked on a stove normally right
out in the middle of the place and actually was quite good.
Imagine eating lunch in a hot garage with open sides, made
hotter with the cooking, some fans, warm beer, lounging
dogs, little half-naked babies roaming around and picnic
tables. That's how it was. Some places were a little better,
but it was a great "Cultural Immersion" experience. From An Loc we drove to a "Peoples Resort" at Dong Xoai
between Song be and Phouc Vinh. In 69 there was really
nothing at Dong Xoai that I remember but now the four lane
highway traveled thru the place and it was quite nice. The
people's resort had tennis courts and plenty of Tiger Beer.
Some government officials were having a meeting here and
their families were with them. They were very interested in
us. The kids that accompanied the adults hovered around us
and used us to practice their English. The schools must be
pretty good because I took Spanish in high school and
college and can't speak but a few phrases but they could
converse on a basic level with us. Next way we packed up and headed for Song Be. This was
something I was really anticipating. Back in mid-69 when I
made my first visit to Song Be it was a small ex-special
forces camp with a runway that was visited by re-supplying
C-130's and of course helicopters of various types and
owners. I still remember watching a C-130 land on the
runway, turn around on a dime, taxi back, drop the cargo
door, unload in no time while the props ran and then take
off. It was a model of Air Force efficiency. From a small
camp it transformed into a Brigade size base camp called LZ
buttons with underground bunkers, observation towers
interspaced along a defensive wall of dirt with the normal
assortment of concertina wire and claymores spread outward
and a large refueling area south of the camp. Flying into
Song Be from the south or south east, it sat as I remember,
on a tiny rise or plateau. The village was to the northwest
and Nui Ba Ra Mountain was north-north east. The south of
Song Be was thick with bamboo. I remembered when Kuyendall
dropped his Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) right down in
the bamboo when a smoke grenade went off inside the cabin
and he disappeared from sight. I was flying front seat Cobra
and one second he was there and the next he was gone. No one
was hurt and pretty soon he was on his radio but we knew
where he was because he had used his smoke filled LOH to
mark his landing area. The point is you were getting into
some thick stuff up in this neck of the woods. Soon after we
first started operating out of Song Be you couldn't land at
the refueling pads from twilight to first light and you
couldn't leave a helicopter parked there overnight. Mortar
and rocket rounds were a regular visitor after dark. In
spite of that it was a pretty little place. This time driving up from the south it was pretty but you
lost that perspective you get from 1500'. The village had
expanded and now encircled the western part of the old base
camp. We parked the bus on the old refueling area. It was
very open because the asphalt had kept the vegetation from
covering the area but now it's a trash dump. But even though
the area was empty and the ground stripped of any visible
signs of American Army occupation it was easier to imagine
what and where things were than other military sites we had
visited so far. Hiking around the old site brought back a
bunch of memories. It was now quiet and the area north of
where we had parked the bus where the main camp had been was
now overgrown with brush & trees. We used this
picturesque place as a staging area to find, fix and kill
NVA. I had spent a lot of time in Song Be both as a pilot
and Aero Rifle Platoon Leader (Blue), and it felt strange
being back in my old stomping ground. I remember being up
here one night sleeping or trying to sleep on top of my
aircraft outside the wire because we had come into Song Be
after dark and the base camp was locked up. Operations
advised us it was safer to stay outside and be quiet then
try and come in. I walked around the area north of the old refueling area
to what was now some sort of orchard with cows wandering
around. When I was Blue we would play football up here to
pass the time between missions. Back during the war it was
busy and crowded and noisy and now it was a trash dump and
orchard. During my short recon I found small pieces of old
mosquito netting and an empty M-16 cartridge. The ground was
sunk in at a few spots where the old underground bunkers had
been and some old timbers stuck out of the ground. As we all
re-grouped around the bus a few villagers came over to
eyeball us. I think they wondered who the hell we were,
especially the little kids. These folks were not used to
Americans. But I was glad I had the opportunity to come back
to Song Be and next time I want to travel further north. From the old base camp we drove to the top of Nui Ba Ra.
The old concrete pad was still there but now there was a
shrine and a couple of buildings. It was jumping off spot
for hikers and tourist. As we departed the area I told the
story of being ordered to take a few "volunteers" and
retrieve a 51 caliber MG (12.7 mm to the NVA reading this)
that was reported to be laying outside a bunker inside the
tree line of large clearing about a mile north of an ARVN
firebase. The area in question was about five miles NNE of
Nui Ba Ra. One of our pink teams, (for the benefit of our
non-Cav readers: one Cobra from the Red or Gun Platoon
teamed with a LOH from the Scout or White Platoon equals a
Pink Team) had spooked an NVA regiment early on the morning
of 12 December 1969 (maybe plus or minus a couple of days)
that had moved down and dug in north of the firebase. The
Cobra half of the pink team test fired its weapons
unknowingly into the NVA staging area and the NVA's thinking
they had been discovered had fired back. This of course
started an exchange of fire that evolved into a pretty large
battle that lasted days. During the morning of the first day
air strikes and artillery pounded the area. The mission came
down early in the afternoon of day one to go in fast and
light with some volunteers to do the job. I volunteered Sgt.
Slye, my RTO Eugene Vanassee and troopers Larry Pruitt and
Patrick Cadenhead to accompany me to retrieve the weapon.
The plan was to fly in low level, jump out of the Huey,
proceed to an area just inside the tree line that was to be
marked by smoke from a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH),
retrieve the weapon and haul ass back to the Huey that was
nervously waiting for us and get the hell out of there.
However as with any combat plan the execution was good but
the target didn't cooperate. We moved a little further into
the bush to the smoke than anticipated. Numerous brand new
bunkers framed with green bamboo spread out all along the
inside of the tree line but no 51 caliber MG. As we spread
around the bunker closest to the smoke Trooper Cadenhead
crawled halfway into the bunker. It was occupied and an NVA
soldier grabbed his M-16. Cadenhead started yelling for help
and opened up with his rifle. At the same time we started
taking fire from the other bunkers. It was so noisy we had
to yell to each other. Weapons were firing, the Huey was
adding to the noise level and the bad guys were not
cooperating. Pruitt pulled Cadenhead out and Slye tossed in
a grenade. We ducked but when the grenade blew it set off a
small secondary that really caused an explosion. Sgt Slye
took some shrapnel to the forehead and starting bleeding
profusely. Blood was all over his forehead and running down
into his eyes. Meanwhile my RTO was yelling that the Huey
piloted by 1st Lieutenant Rhett Lewis was coming under small
arms fire and had to leave; so get back ASAP. As I took up
the rear and covered the guys high tailing it back to the
Huey I noticed a small backpack that had blown out of the
bunker. I grabbed it and took off firing my weapon to cover
our retrograde maneuver. The Huey was up to a hover, the
door gunners were firing, I jumped in and we hauled ass. No
51 caliber; nothing to show for mingling with the enemy at
close quarters except for the backpack. I was glad we were
all alive but disappointed. Back at Song Be I briefed the
Brigade S-3 and he took my backpack. Turns out that it
contained some papers, a diary of sorts, that contained
information about the NVA unit, what they were doing and why
they were north of the ARVN firebase. The NVA plan was to
overrun the firebase manned by elements of the 1st ARVN
Airborne Brigade to demonstrate that Vietnamization was not
working. So the mission wasn't a complete failure, we gained
some valuable information. The next day we were back on the ground about 200 yards
south of where we had been the day before. Captain Hood
piloting a LOH had been shot in the same clearing and we
joined a group of ARVN that were moving up from the Firebase
to engage the NVA. Captain Hood had taken a hit that in my
opinion snuffed out his life in a micro-second. The LOH was
still flyable and the observer with his foot almost shot off
had taken the controls and landed the LOH. The crew chief
pulled him out, and they escaped with their lives as the LOH
took some hits, rolled over and burned. I apologize but I
can't remember their names. We joined in a little action
with the ARVN's and their American advisor, recovered Hood's
body and then at the request of the ARVN flew three NVA
prisoners back to their firebase. As you could imagine the
NVA soldiers had never been in a helicopter before because
their eyes showed how frightened they were. Of course, we
tried to make them feel at home since they had been so
neighborly the day before. ON 30 December 1969 some miles north of above mentioned
area we were back in another large clearing where W01 Edd
Hogeboom was shot down after being hit by 51 Caliber MG
fire. We think he was hit by the retreating NVA regiment
from the prior engagements. Edd was the only one that
survived and was subjected to more terror on the ground as
he listened to the sounds of the NVA coming for him. He is
lucky to be alive. He was rescued by SSG W Williams who
jumped out of a LOH to get to his position before the Blues
were able to fight to him. We got into our own little
firefight right after we were inserted on the opposite end
of the clearing and provided covering fire for his LOH and
subsequent medivac helicopter. Edd's fellow crewmembers,
Thomas Soma and James Dean, were dead before the helicopter
hit the ground in my opinion based on the wounds I observed
they suffered from the weapons ground fire. I don't know how
Edd survived. A lot of large metal foreign objects hit his
LOH. SSG W. Williams and WO1 James Whimore died days later on
January 4, 1970 when their LOH went down. I tell these stories to honor the memory of the men that
performed heroically in the face of incredible danger. When
we were on the ground my Blues fought bravely and I was very
proud to be with them. Charlie Troop gave you the
opportunity to participate in very risky dangerous jobs. I
saw LOH pilots and Snake pilots fly into harms way with no
fear. Lift Pilots as per Rhett's experience were also
subjected to high levels of danger. They performed missions
such as night extractions, nighthawk missions and ferrying
Quick Reaction Forces (QRF) to a firefight to reinforce the
Blues just to name a few and it makes you realize a normal C
Troop Lift mission was dangerous one. Most American soldiers
and this held true for our Charlie Troopers were kids, just
barely out of high school, send thousands of miles away from
home to fight for another country and very few Americans
appreciated their sacrifice or even knew what they were
doing. I guess that is why I went back to Viet Nam. I wanted
to remember my first visit and dig up those memories. I
didn't appreciate my comrades or C Troop 1/9 Air Cav back in
69-70 like I do now. Events like what I described above were
what your job was all about. I hate to leave anyone out, but
there were times I observed some supreme bravery. I watched
Irling Smith fly his Cobra into 50 caliber fire trying to
knock it out. I was flying with Ernie Burns in the B Model
north of Xuan Loc on 2 June 1969 when Captain Don Porter
(Cavalier White) was shot down. We watched his LOH pause and
then fall thru the trees, crash and burn. Burns and I were
circling his LOH at treetop level and Ernie was almost
begging him to get out of the line of fire. Porter had his
LOH in a hover above the trees so focused on providing
covering fire for some troops on the ground in contact he
wasn't listening. Beekman our crew chief ended up killing
the NVA on the ground that shot Porter down. Porter was lost
with PFC Warren Brown and Sgt Weber. A month later on 14
July 1969 I was headed to the TOC to fly with Troop
Commander Major Felton after flying with him almost 12 hours
to accompany him south of Phouc Vinh to support the Blues.
Ernie Burns had been out over the Blues but his Snake
developed inverter problems and came back. Felton grabbed
Burns when he landed and they took off. They perished after
a mid air collision with a LOH. Gone in an instant were
Ernie Burns, Maj. Felton, PFC Butler and Sgt Davis. Davis
and Burns were short timers. Maybe between them had about
three weeks left in country. The very next day we lost 1st
Lieutenant Hansen when he was shot and killed flying a LOH
out in the AO. The Troop sustained a tragic loss of five
outstanding, extremely brave men in a two day period. I was also with Felton just east of the Michelin
Plantation when Scout Ken Dies was shot down. His Cobra
cover had to leave to refuel and Felton and I flew cover for
him while he and his crew fought for their lives in a bomb
crater. It was my first real conflict and Felton and
Beekman's calm soothed my nerves. The bad guys that shot
Dies down were trying to get to Ken and his crew to finish
them off. We made sure that didn't happen and they were
rescued a short time later. There were times when I called in Cobra fire and I was
always amazed at how accurate our Snake pilots could be.
During Hogeboom's incident McDerby put rockets on a smoke
grenade I had thrown into the enemy position. If any rockets
had been short I would have had some serious casualties. We
had some outstanding pilots in C Troop and I'm sure A &
B Troops had the same expertise. The pride in being in the
1/9th Cav psychologically elevated a Trooper to a higher
level. I'm sorry, I hate to mention some guys and not mention
others but I wanted these stories demonstrate the incredible
danger that the men of Charlie Troop endured. Most of the
guys I've mentioned are no longer with us and therefore
can't tell their story so I'm doing it for them. Getting back to our 2006 story after that trip back down
Remembrance Road, after Song Be we headed to Phouc Vinh
(PV). We drove south back through Dong Xoai and into PV.
Phouc Vinh was Division Headquarters (HQ) and known also as
Camp Gorvad. The actual site was really overgrown. It was
easy to see where things had been but it was hard to
visualize the exact spots of anyplace because it was
stripped and reverting back to jungle. The village has
expanded and now where Division HQ had been there was a Viet
Nam Army base. The runway was intact but the rest to the
surrounding area was trees, brush or occasional hooch. We
parked the bus on the south side of the runway close to
where Charlie Troop had lived. The same conditions of old
thin asphalt existed here as we saw at LZ Caroline, Lai Kae,
Quon Loi and Song Be . Dave Keel and I wandered around and
walked on the sacred ground of the Charlie Troop site. It
was so different that it was hard to imagine of what it was
like 40 years ago. Now trees blocked the view. Forty years
ago there was not a tree around inside the compound. Across
the runway where the tower stood was now a house. NE of the
runway I remember the artillery area but now it was just
empty. We didn't get to hang around because some Vietnamese
soldiers, one with an AK-47 drove over to see what we were
doing. It made Tang pretty uncomfortable so after some
pictures we mounted up and took off. Kung Powell say that as
a result of my yelling "God Bless America" and the "greatest
military outfit in the world had been here helping the
people obtain freedom" during some filming Dick Walker had
graciously taken of me on the end of the runway I had
attracted the VN Army's attention and they sent some
soldiers over to run us off. So after we admired the
soldier's AK-47 we got on the bus and drove off. But we
didn't let the People's Army of the Communist Republic of
Viet Nam scare us off so easy. We drove around to the other
end of the runway and roamed around a little more. Actually
I felt a little like a part of my personal history had been
erased because the commies had stripped every sign of
American presence. However with the runway intact and the
area open and empty there was more of PV left behind then
any other base camp or firebase we visited in VN except for
Song Be. It was a little bit disconcerting. I remember this
place as another busy bustling base camp and now it is so
quiet it is disarming. But I am very glad I returned and
visited Phoch Vinh. Things are changing fast over there and
in another 5 years PV might be unrecognizable. I spend a
memorable year here. I remember more details from April of
69 to April of 70 then any other 365 day period in my life.
I'm getting older and reflecting more on my past, because I
didn't document past experiences as well as I should. In
addition, after my VN and Army years, I married, raised
kids, had a career, got involved in community affairs, built
a house, and basically lived in the present and planned for
the future. I didn't really spend much time thinking about
the past. Now all my time is my time. I'm not locked into a
fixed schedule and do what I want (or my wife wants me to
do). My point is, now I have time and I wanted to see what I
did in he past from a different perspective. Leaving PV we headed south and headed back to Saigon. On
the way we stopped at the river just south of VN along the
bridge and took some pictures. The bridge we were on was
new. The old bridge was down the river about a 100 yards and
it had been bombed out in the mid-70's to stop one of the
NVA intrusions. After that we stopped at a small "truck
stop" for lunch. Don't envision something like an American
truck stop cause it wasn't as large or covered with acres of
concrete and lines of gas pumps. It was just a small site
along the side of the road about the size of a four car
garage. Instead of massive "semis" there were mini-trucks
like Mercedes and Hyundai. Garr and Tang figured if the
truck drivers ate here it must be good and they were right.
The food was all cooked right out in the open and in plain
sight. Dogs roamed around with little kids and overall it
was dirty, smelly and of course hot but that is better than
being cold. The local drivers stared at you because they
don't see Americans every day but everyone was friendly. The
restroom was an outhouse, the food was good, the people
courteous but curious, the beer was warm, the conversation
was great, the air was hot, life was good. I enjoyed the
experience and comradely. Once back in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh city we stayed at the
Majestic Hotel. This place was beautiful. It exemplified the
old charm of French Viet Nam. It was built early in the
1900's and reflected the architecture of an earlier colonial
era. The elevators were very small but the rooms were large
and opulent. Our room opened to a atrium and about 5 stories
down there was a pool and courtyard. It was an elegant
retreat after the hotels of Tay Ninh and Dong Xoai. The highlight of this portion of our stay in Saigon was
the shopping or more specifically "The Market". First let me
say I am not a shopper. At home I go to the mall or store
knowing what I want; I buy or not buy and I'm gone. I hate
it but there are times like Christmas or such that I am
forced to shop. However the experience at the Market was
more like a battle. The place was the size of two Wal-Marts;
a huge warehouse type place. Clothes and other stuff were
stacked to the ceiling. Around the periphery of the building
were stalls set up for watches and jewelry. The middle of
building was clothes and other merchandise. The rows between
the merchandise was barely wide enough for a full sized
American human. Women sellers attacked you. You had to fight
them off. At first it was intimidating and uncomfortable,
but Kung Powell taught me the basics. You had to play their
game better than them or at least as well. Here are the
rules as per John Powell: Rule #1, negotiate up from a low
point. For example they will hold up a Polo Shirt and quote
$20. In the US that might be a good price, but you're not in
the US. Counter with a low number like $2. From a
counter-counter of $15 you go to $3 and so on and so on.
Rule #2, make a bigger offer for multiple stuff. For example
they are down to $7.50 for a shirt and you counter with $25
for 5 shirts. Now it's high finance. Rule # 3, you tell them
you can get it cheaper in Hanoi. That drives them crazy.
It's like they think they can out do their sisters in Hanoi
without even working at it. Put everything together and it works like this: Your
advance has been stopped and stuff is waved in your face
with repetitions of , "20 dollar nice shirt, 20 dollar" .
You reply, No that's too much, $2. They say, "no, you crazy,
15 dollar". You say, "I'll pay you $3". They say, "no way,
good shirt, what you size, look see how good this look, try
it on, here I help you take off your shirt, what color, 10
dollar". You say, "wait that's to much, I like that red,
I'll pay $4". They say "no way, 5 dollar, what size? Now you
try it on and it fits good and looks just like a real polo
and would be great for golf or as a gift so you hit them
with the closer. "I can get this in Hanoi for $3 but I will
buy 5 for $20." The big money hits home and you close the
deal. So in addition to some Polo or La Costa golf shirts, I
got a bunch of Beer T-Shirts for $1 apiece and some Rolex
knockoff watches for wife and other sons at home and stuff
for my granddaughter and daughter in laws. I have to admit
though even as I became proficient at the negotiation, Luke
was the Master. He bargained them down to where sometimes I
thought the salesperson was going to pay him money. He
bought watches, luggage, shirts, a camera, suits and gifts
for the girls. It sounds like a lot but the cost was nothing
compared to what it would have been in the good old USA.
Luke was the "Master Bargainer" but Terry Funk, one of our
Marines and now an attorney in Tulsa, OK was the "Master
Buyer". On one occasion we had vendors following our
mini-bus on scooters to stay with Terry. Except for the
cheap luggage he purchased the quality of the products was
good. Remember the clothes you are wearing right now was
probably made somewhere in Asia. The backpack I took to VN
that I purchased at Academy was made in Viet Nam. That night we all got together and had a big dinner at
the Majestic and some of us roamed around Saigon for one
last time. The enjoyable thing about the Majestic was that
it was more of an international hotel with a rich history
and diverse clientele. Early the next morning we headed north to Da Nang. This
ended the first half of our trip and now we were headed to
an area of VN that I had heard a lot about but had never
seen. So far we had been in country six days. Before I
describe the next phase of this trip I have to say I need
another trip to the old AO and next time I want to travel
further north of Song Be. I said this earlier but I didn't
get enough time to see all I wanted to see. I spent a year
in VN in and around Phouc Vinh and came back for a week. It
wasn't enough but it was something I would recommend to all
VN vets. I can think of a lot of reasons to go back and
re-experience VN. You don't need to go back to cleanse your
soul or shake out the ghosts, not that some shouldn't go for
that reason but in my opinion most of us missed the cultural
experience. We never got to know the people. They are good,
hard working, dedicated family people that experienced very
difficult times in the 60's and 70's. I know we corrupted a
bunch of them and some took advantage of us but what can you
expect. I never knew the people or the country and the first
time I didn't really care to see it up close and personal. I
wanted to fly helicopters, do what was expected of me, not
die, and come home. Those were valid expectations but now I
had a chance to see it from another angle and it was worth
it in my opinion. Going to Da Nang required another trip to Tan Son Nhut
airport. I checked out the 90the Replacement Depot again and
all the revetments and then we took off in a Boeing 767 Air
Vietnam passenger jet . At least the Vietnamese buy American
because it's the best. Makes me a little guilty about
thinking of buying a Toyota product. Tang almost got left
because Jeanie had a little too much weight in her baggage
and Tang had to deal with the baggage guys. Tang was the
man. As some of you know Danang is located in a beautiful spot
on the coast surrounded by mountains. We stayed at the Green
Bamboo Hotel, a medium size three and a half star place
somewhere in the middle of the chaos of the city. Now we
were in Marine Country and the marine vets were starting to
stir. This was Tang's home town and Garr's turf and it
seemed they knew everybody in town. We arrived in Da Nang
early and after checking into the Hotel we drove west of the
city and visited the location where Dick Walker had set up
an artillery position in 1965. Dick was part of the first
detachment of Marines to land at Da Nang in 65 and was given
the mission of sealing off the Dai La Pass into the city.
The geography was the same but "development creep" had set
in. Now the rice paddies were gone and houses and industrial
warehouses had started to move out to where he had been. It
took Dick a little time to wander over the terrain and
remember where his HQ was situated and where the artillery
pieces had been set up. He gave a little background to what
was going on and how things were set up. It was interesting
not only because of the history of the area but he was in VN
almost 4 years before me. From the Dai La Pass we head to the South China Beach
area . The old US revetments that housed F-4 Phantoms are
still there but now the area has been taken over by the
Vietnamese military. We can see Marble Mountain in the
distance. We stop and take pictures and then we take off for Hong
Hai, an old port city where Garr, Powell and the Government
Tourist Agency wanted us to visit for the silk clothes
stores and history. We watched silk worms in action and I
purchased a silk robe (fantastic and cheap), and scarves,
pajamas and ties for sons, daughter in laws and grandchild.
Also went to really nice restaurant out in this area with
little ponds. It was extremely Oriental and serenely
beautiful. The next day we resumed our tour of the area around Da
Nang. We visited Marble Mountain and hiked up thru it's
hollow middle. It was a tough hike up through the mountain
but the hike down on the outside after we reached the top
was no stroll in the park for a bunch of older middle aged
folks. The view however was worth the effort. Once down
there is some beautiful marble merchandise at the shops at
the bottom. After this we drive around the area and visited
some sites that have some real meaning to the marines that
were with us. TT Woods, Hill 55, and Dodge City were some of
the areas that Garr pointed out where the marines had done
some heavy fighting. Just west of Hill 55 Tony had been
wounded and come very close to dying. He pointed out where
he was just west of Hill 55 while we told his story of how
he was wounded during a firefight with the NVA. He was a
very very lucky guy. Really some beautiful country and the
people treated us very well. That night we all piled into
rickshaws for a short ride to dinner and sightseeing. Nights
in VN cities are active. I think everyone eats out and
everyone moves around on scooters. Early the next day we packed up and headed for Hue. It
was at this point that Mike Sprayberry separated from our
group. He headed west with Tony, his GPS and Tang for a
little side trip to the Ashua Valley. He wanted to revisit
the site where he and his unit, D 5/7 Cav, 1st Cav Division,
had had a major run in with the bad guys. The plan was to
pick him up on the return leg of our circuitous trip over
the HaiVan pass to the DMZ west to Khe Sanh, Camp Carroll,
Camp Eagle and other historical locations. On the way Garr
and Bob Weekly gave us all a little running commentary of
how important the HaiVan was in the defense of Da Nang. Bob
was stationed out west with his artillery unit in 72 and
brought his unit back thru the pass in the closing days of
the war when the Americans were allowing the ARVN to fight
their own war. The scenery up and over the Hai Van pass is
spectacular. There are places along the coast that would be
fabulous sites for ocean resorts with golf courses and other
amenities. I would suspect that in another 10 years that
area will be full of resorts. We made a few stops along the way but once in Hue Garr
took us on a walk along the route the Marines took during
the battle for Hue during Tet 68. Most of us have seen the
documentaries of the battle so as Garr explains how the
marines fought street by street, and building by building I
could visualize the action. After that we checked into our
Hotel which used to be the Quarters for the ARVN generals
during the war. It was a very elegant place right on the
Perfume River. Our afternoon was free so Luke and I walked
aroung the city and stopped in bars for a beer with names
like Khe Sanh or DMZ where you could get M-16 or AK-47 shots
and the Why Not on Phi Knong Par Street. The next day we toured the Citadel and Garr continued
with the battle stories of TET 68. The Citadel is a huge
tourist attraction for Vietnamese and foreigners alike. It
was a neat place to visit. Luke made an acquaintance with a
young Vietnamese girl that was studying engineering and she
invited him out to dinner on her scooter. She took him by
her house where he met her mom, dad and siblings and then
they went to an outdoor restaurant. He got real "Immersed in
the Culture". The rest of us went to dinner on a floating
restaurant on the Perfume River. Very enjoyable. Next day we were up early and headed north. On the way we
stopped at Camp Evans. It was devoid of any trace of any
presence of human habitation just like the spots in the
southern part of the country. However the area had large
electrical towers and looked like it was about to become a
large construction site. Keel had called this place home the
first half of his tour and Powell had been here a short time
before heading south soon after he arrived in-country. Leaving Camp Evans we headed up to the old DMZ. Our
target was the Vin Loc tunnels just north of the DMZ. These
tunnels were used by the NVA to cache supplies that came
down by boat. Interesting place and very similar to the Chu
Chi tunnels. From here we drove back south and stopped at
Cua Tung beach for some swimming and refreshments, then to
Dong Ha. This was the site of the heroic exploits of Marine
Major Rippley who blew up the Dong Ha Bridge to stop the NVA
tanks and troops from crossing. However from a tourist
perspective Dong Ha is no Hue. We stayed in a ½ star
hotel very similar to the hotel we stayed at in Tay Ninh.
That night we went to a restaurant across the street and ate
dinner on the roof of a four story building. Food was good,
there was plenty of beer and the company was great. We were
nearing the end of the trip and everyone had become good
friends and enjoyed each others company. Next day we were up early and headed west. Our trip
agenda was Camp Carroll, Khe Sanh, Camp Eagle and points
between, plus we were going to pick up Mike and Tony.
Overall my impression of this part of Viet Nam was the
rugged terrain and the short distance from the coast to the
border of Laos. With North Vietnam so close and the west
side of the country so open and with no "pursuit policy"
across the border it's surprising we held onto this
territory as well as we did. There is no doubt in my mind we
fought this war with one hand tied behind our back. Could
you imagine Ike telling his Generals not to pursue the
Germans into Belgium or Germany but they could come onto
your turf to have raise havoc. They wouldn't have been the
so called "Greatest Generation" allowing that crap now would
they? But our leaders who were part of that greatest
generation imposed those restrictions on the war we were
fighting. What the Hey? Khe Sanh is one place that the government of VN
maintained some history of the American War and to display
the spoils of war. Khe Sanh is on a plateau surrounded by
mountainous terrain. It's a beautiful site that really
doesn't look like it did 40 years ago. Now there is small
museum with some static displays of helicopters, old cannons
and fake bunkers. It's on about a 10 acre area. Surrounding
the area is a coffee farm. We also visited Camp Carroll and this location has a lot
of history. It was a fire support base that contained long
range 175mm howitzers that supported the surrounding bases
to the west and north. One of many interesting points of
history related to Camp Carroll is that it was surrendered
by it's ARVN commander Colonel Dinh to the NVA in 1975.
Colonel Dinh earned the sobriquet "Young Lion" during TET 68
when he personally placed the South Vietnam colors atop the
citadel in Hue. The loss of Camp Carroll was a major blow to
South Viet Nam as the NVA marched toward Hue and Da
Nang. Camp Eagle was a highway intersection with a little
village surrounding it. Nothing remained of its
existence. By mid-day we were south of Khe Sanh and heading east
into the Ashau. By 1 PM we linked back up with Mike, Tony
& Tang and had lunch in one of small villages. That
night we were back in Da Nang and the next morning we were
up and flying to Hanoi. Our trip was coming to an end but Luke and I had one more
thing to accomplish. I had asked Garr before we left if we
could play golf in Viet Nam and he had set us up a tee time
in a course about 30 kilometers west of Hanoi. We skipped
the tour of Hanoi but I figured we could do that next time
because I wanted to say I played golf in VN. This turned out
to be a better experience than I had anticipated. A driver picked up Luke and I at the airport and gave us
a hair-raising ride out to Kings Island Golf Resort. The
city of Hanoi is kind of sterile looking to me and the
countryside until you get close to the golf course is flat.
The mountains start to rise just as we near our destination
and the driver pulls into a large parking lot where a bunch
of fancy cars are parked with drivers hanging around in
groups talking. The parking lot is bordered by the Dong Mo
Lake. This lake surrounds the golf course. We are the only
Westerners within 50 miles. Our driver motioned us to a
small dock at the edge of the parking lot. Everybody looked
at us like we were aliens from outer space. The parking lot
is nice with huge shade trees and an ornamental stone fence
surrounding it. We get on a small motorboat with four
Vietnamese and it takes us across to the course. It was
really classy. I took pictures and movies on the boat and
narrated the scenes not knowing the Vietnamese could
understand English. I wasn't saying anything bad, just
commenting on the fancy situation in a communist country.
One of the Vietnamese asks Luke who we were and he tells
them we are on a Military Tour and I had fought in Viet Nam
back in 69. That seemed to interest him and he then told us
about the course and translated for us. At the dock on the
course side of the lake we had a same fancy ornamental stone
fence but a line of women that served as caddies. There must
have been 30 or more all dressed out in peasant clothes with
the cone shaped hat. With two assigned to us and following
our new friend we walked up to the club house. The guy that
befriended us was a high Communist official and a member of
the Club. He told the girl at the clubhouse that Luke and I
were his guests and we got a reduced rate. It wasn't cheap
but it was less than I had planned for. We got there about
12:30 and it was hot and humid, probably about 98 or 100
degrees with 85% humidity. It was like playing golf in
Houston in August. But it was really pretty and every six
holes or so there were these small fancy refreshment centers
built into the side of a hill under shade tress. Luke and I
took advantage of those and recouped our fluid loss with
COLD Tiger Beers. These Vietnamese were living large. Our
little female caddies were terrific. They cleaned our golf
balls after every shot and gave us putting tips. The caddies
were women from the surrounding villages and they just
caddied on the weekends. They were both married and both
spoke some English. Luke's spoke better than mine and as we
walked the course they told us about their families and how
they liked being caddies. They didn't act aware of any
conflict America had with VN and we didn't discuss it. They
were just two nice women that accepted their lot in life and
were working for a few extra easy bucks. They made all their
money on tips so naturally we tipped them as generously as
any ugly American could be expected. After 18 holes we were
bushed so we stopped in the clubhouse for a couple more
Tiger Beers. Here we ran into Bob Bicknell, an American and
the managing director of the golf resort. He was a really a
nice guy and sat down and talked to us and wanted to know
all about what we had been doing. He was about 42, married
to a Vietnamese woman and had worked here for about 15
years. Before this job he worked in Thailand. He had been in
Asia for most of his life. Meanwhile our Communist friends
came in and we had a few beers with them. We had a great
time. Time was getting late so we shook hands with our new
comrades and took the motor boat ride back across the lake.
Our driver was waiting and he dropped us off at the Hotel
where the rest of our tour buddies were hanging out. We
freshened ourselves up, had a quick dinner with them and
then we all took off for the airport for our long ride
home. I can't say enough of how much I enjoyed this trip. One
big reason was because everybody really got along together
well. Another reason is that Viet Nam is a beautiful
country. The people are industrious hard working souls that
have strong family ties. If there are any fat people in Viet
Nam I didn't see any. They are a homogeneous group of people
that basically all look alike. I started to miss the
differences we have back in America after about ten days.
But this is a trip not to be undertaken lightly. As I say in
the beginning of this report, this trip is an adventure. For
example, you stay in real nice accommodations but when you
travel the hinterlands you stay in some nice, clean places
but not necessarily as bug free as hotels in the States. But
the lizards help out in that category. Powell, Garr and Tang
were fantastic. They knew the geography, the people, the
restaurants, the shops, the history, the war stories and
whatever else you need to know. Thanks, JP, Captain Garr, David & Renee, Mike, Julie,
Jeanie, Bob, Dick, Terry, Tony and Military Tours. You were
great traveling buddies and made our trip more enjoyable.
. John & Luke M
Mackel's Second Viet Nam TourChapter I - Background
Chapter 2 - Arrival Saigon
Chapter 3 - North from Saigon
Chapter 4 - Song Be & Phouc Vinh
Chapter Five - Back in Saigon
Second Half of Trip
Chapter Six - North to Da Nang